Decibels
by ChoyofBonk
Summary: 60dB: Normal conversation level. 85dB: Beginning of hearing damage. 127dB: Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) begins. Permanent hearing loss. 140dB: Hearing protection required (definite long term damage). 191dB: 1 lb. bomb or grenade at blast epicentre. 195dB: The human eardrums ruptures... Well. Jesse should've asked for a helmet. (UPDATES IRREGULAR)
1. The Explosion

**Decibel chpt.1:** **The Explosion**

 **Hoi! BonkChoy here. Um…. I have nothing to say, besides "This is my first fanfiction". Yeah! This is my first fanfiction, so please, grant me a little mercy while reading. At least for the first few chapters.**

 **Or you can throw me a healing potion and tell me how to improve my writing. I'm half making this up as I go, to be honest…. I think that's bad.**

 **Okay…. Here we go...**

 **Warning:** **Before reading, I recommend playing or watching someone play Minecraft:Story Mode episodes 1-3 first, to understand what's going on. But you should probably watch/ play all existing episodes first, anyways.**

 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own any of the characters, nor do I own Minecraft: Story Mode. Telltale Games and Mojang does. Though I will mention if there are any OCs at the beginning of chapters.**

 **-o.0.o-**

"I'll do it. I'll set off the bomb."

He volunteered because he could tell everyone else was too afraid to. He volunteered because everyone was looking to him to be the leader. And what kind of leader throws his/ her friends into the line of danger just because he/ she was afraid? Nope. Jesse was not that type of person. Wasn't the whole purpose of setting the bomb off to not lose everyone and everything and let his friends die? HIs friends and Rueben were everything to him. Before, he was alone, just a noob lost in the forest. Now, he had friends, and he didn't want to lose them.

"Well…" Soren laughed. He was visibly relieved. "I was hoping it'd be you." He stepped forward and handed the ingredients to Jesse. Maybe it was his imagination, and it probably was, but the ingredients seemed to weigh him down like bricks. The fate of the world was literally in his hands now. He'd never thought that would happen.

He was about to go save the world when Ellegaard spoke up. "Take my armour, Jesse, it'll help."

Not wanting to be outdone by Ellegaard, Magnus stepped forward. "Nahh….take _my_ armour, Jesse, it's gotten me out of a lotta jams!"

Ellegaard took one more step ahead of Magnus. "Jesse, I insist. I enchanted it myself."

Magnus brushed/ shoved past her. "I double- insist."

"I triple- insist."

"I… insist four times." (quadruple- insist?)

Jesse kept up the neutral face, but internally, he was flipping out. He didn't want to take either of their armours! They would be distracting the Wither, putting themselves in harm's way so Jesse could do his job. They needed the armour. The Wither would be focused on them, not him.

But, if the F- Bomb exploded in his face, he wouldn't survive it. If he got sucked up a tractor beam and then fell, he wouldn't survive it. Basically, he would die if he didn't take armour. And the enderman suit didn't count. As determined as he was to save the world, he didn't fancy dying in the process… Gosh….. Why was this so hard? Why was deciding between his friends and his life so hard?

"Maybe a compromise." he finally said. "Um…. I can take your chestplate, Magnus, and Ellegaard's pants *gosh that sounded wrong*. I can't take all of either of your armours, you'll be in danger. Of.. you know." He gestured in the general direction of the Storm.

Magnus seemed a little miffed at not winning him completely over, but complied anyways, pulling his chestplate over his head and handing it to Jesse. Ellegaard did the same with her pants (she was wearing two pants, okay?!). It felt weird, wearing armour that wasn't his. Jesse had always wanted his first armour set to be his.

Why was he even thinking about that at such a crucial time like this?

"You should be ashamed of yourselves." Petra cut in as Jesse was changing. "You're the Order of the Stone."

Magnus, Ellegaard, and Soren had the decency to look ashamed, Soren more so than the others. Jesse wondered why.

"Good luck, Jesse." Ellegaard said gravely. "What you're doing means WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!" she screeched, pointing wide- eyed at the rapidly approaching Storm.

Jesse muttered a few risky words under his breath as he buckled the rest of the armour straps. The wind howled as the Storm moved through it. The sky was a deep purple, ominous and, well, dark and scary, like the Storm. Trees were being ripped out from the ground.

As soon as the last strap was in place, Jesse started running, towards the Storm. There was absolutely no time to waste. He had needed to set off the bomb a while ago. Soren was yelling stuff, probably a plan to distract the Storm so Jesse could do his thing, but it was a lost to the wind (which kept trying to make him blind with all the hair it was pushing into his eyes- how rude.)

 _TNT in the middle, gunpowder all around,_ he chanted over and over in his head, so he wouldn't waste any time trying to remember it when the time came to craft it. _TNT in the middle, gunpowder all around, TNT in the middle, gunpowder all arou…_

He stopped running right under the Storm, where it was unlikely it would see him. Jesse all but slapped the crafting table down, his fingers fumbling as he feverishly laid down the gunpowder around it. Three more...Two more….. One more….

Purple light washed over Jesse and the crafting table, pulling the bomb and gunpowder away from the table. Jesse began floating up, away from the ingredients. Everything was scattered.

"No! Not yet!" he shouted, but, of course, the Storm paid no heed to his shouts. He still had to place down the last gunpowder! Petra was relying on him to kill the Storm and cure her. His friends and the Order were relying on him to complete the job before they ran out of resources to build with. And the rest of the world were relying on him to just end the mess.

Basically, failure was not an option. He had to set off the bomb. He absolutely _had_ to.

"Watch out!" someone in the distance shouted, and Jesse instinctively turned towards the shout, only to see one of the Storm's tentacles swing out of nowhere and knock Magnus and Ellegaard off the structure they were building. (was that a Rueben with sunglasses?) Ellegaard flew through the air and slammed into a tree, knocked out, and Magnus flew past the tree, slid across some grass, and stopped. They couldn't have many hearts left from a hit like that.

"Magnus! Ellegaard!" he screamed. Why did he even do that? He was wasting time. From this distance, they couldn't even hear him.

With a surge of determination, Jesse "swam" through the air, and grabbed four of the eight gunpowders. Another push, and he had the remaining three gunpowders and the crafting table all within his reach. He was gonna craft the bomb in the air.

TNT in the middle, gunpowder all around.

The moment the ingredients were in place, they shuddered, then collected together in the middle to form a bomb. _The_ bomb. It was a shade lighter than the Storm's eyes, with some sort of console on the side that looked similar to the command block's. But what really set the F- bomb apart from TNT was the Purple "F" that glowed with power. Enough power to stop a storm, for example. He took it in his hands, prepa-

THUNK.

Something sharp scratched the skin at the small of his back, preventing him from gaining any more altitude. Jesse turned his head to look. A fishing hook had sunk into Ellegaard's armour. His eyes followed the string connected to the hook, which ended at a pole, which was being held steady by Lukas, Olivia, Soren, Axel, Petra, and surprisingly, Magnus and Ellegaard, though they looked a little worse for were both alive! Thank Notch Jesse had chosen both armours instead of one!

"Yeaaahh!" he cheered. Seeing Magnus and Ellegaard alive and somewhat well gave him even more determination and drive to finish this mess. He turned back to face the Wither Storm. The bomb would blow any second now.

"Eat this!" he shouted. He let go of the bomb, and it floated away, towards the mouth (well, one of the mouths) of the Storm. _Please blow up._

 _I hope this works. I hope I don't-_

The bomb exploded, his ears popped, and everything was a brilliant bright white. And then it was black.

 _\- die._

 **-o.0.o-**

 **Um, yeah… that's the first chappie of this story. I still need to work out some details, so consider this the pilot chapter. Please leave a review if you want to, they make me happy! Constructive criticism would be appreciated as well, but no flames, please.**

 **Okay bye. :)**


	2. Don't know what You have 'till it's Gone

**Decibels chpt. 2 :** **Don't know what You Have 'till it's Gone**

 **Oh wow. It's only been a few days since I uploaded the first chapter, and people are already putting it in their favourites and alerts! The reviews have been really positive and they made me smile. (I've replied to all of them) They still do! So here I am, typing up the next chapter.**

 **Ahem. Yeah, I replied to the reviews with the wrong account. Sorry 'bout that. Special thanks to Gamerwhogames, who has offered to give me a rep (did I phrase that right?) or some sort of shoutout. She's cool, go check out her stories! They make me laugh.**

 **Quick question: How do you indent your paragraphs in FFN? I use the tab key, but it doesn't show in the final chapter :(**

 **Okay, on to chapter two! (Warning: long chapter!)**

 **DISCLAIMER:** **Don't own Minecraft: Story Mode or Minecraft. Telltale and Mojang does.**

 **-o.0.o-**

Back when he had nobody, when it was just Jesse and a bunch of trees, and darkness, he'd wondered if he'd die alone, with no friends. He was so afraid that night. He hadn't told anyone yet, but that was one of his worst fears, dying alone and afraid and cold and sad. There was just something about it … well, he was afraid of dying alone, alright?

He hadn't thought about this since meeting Reuben. He had simply forgotten about it. So why was he thinking about it now?

Because he felt like he was dying. Jesse had felt himself hit the ground, he had felt the World shake each and every time a piece of the Storm broke apart and fell. Jesse expected to feel that; who wouldn't? Screw all that, though, because it was dark. He couldn't see a thing. And his ears were whistling like crazy, loud and sharp. They throbbed painfully with every heartbeat. He covered his ears with his hands, trying to block out the pain. It didn't work.

Jesse couldn't hear his friends. He couldn't hear anything besides the high- pitched whistling. And it was as dark as his first night alone, just Jesse, the darkness and no one else. Was he going to die now? Did the armour not work? Where was everybody, were they okay, were there any survivors, why wasn't he going to Heaven or whatever right now, what is going on what's wrong with him why is his heart beating so fast whatwhywhowhere-

Oh. Right. He couldn't see because his eyes were shut tight in pain. And he couldn't hear his friends because his ears were whistling. They were bad at whistling. How very stupid of Jesse to immediately think he was dying. Heh heh.

He opened his eyes and propped himself up on his elbows (his hands still over his ears). His friends were kneeling in front of and around him, worried. Behind them, the last pieces of the Storm hit the ground, tentacles flopping pathetically and eyes dulled to a mundane purple.

It was dead. It was over. The bomb had worked.

Jesse stood up, his ears still whistling like mad, and watched as the final head flopped to the ground, its jaw lifeless and limp. He looked at the entire Storm, now reduced to a heap of black, blocky mess. Smoke rose from the corpse with an air of finality.

A low mumble to his right; he turned to find Lukas talking to him, his eyebrows scrunched up in question as he gestured to Jesse's hands, which were still covering his ears. _Why are you covering your ears?_ Lukas seemed to be asking.

"Sorry, my ears are whistling really hard right now." Jesse replied, hoping it made sense. Lukas nodding in understanding. Hmm. Jesse couldn't hear himself very well either, though he could feel his throat making sound.

Axel stepped forward and pat Jesse on the back, a huge smile on his face. Another low mumble. Probably saying something along the lines of _Congrats, you did it!_ or _You actually freakin' did it!_

Jesse smiled up at him, like _Yeah, I did do it!_

He felt something, or should he say some _one_ , nudging his legs happily. It was Reuben, with his trademark cheesy pig grin. When he made eye contact with Jesse, he immediately jumped straight up, and Jesse had to let go of his ears to catch him. He then began to lick Jesse's face everywhere, and by everywhere, he meant it. His face was now coated in slobber, not that Jesse minded much. He let out a laugh.

"Okay, okay.. Reuben, I'm okay… good boy, Reuben… jeez, you're really happy to see me alive, aren't you?" he murmured, rubbing his head affectionately. Jesse's ears were still ringing too loudly for him to hear anything he just said, but at least Reuben seemed to hear it. He licked Jesse some more.

Another low mumble to his left; by now Jesse had figured out that a low mumble was someone speaking. It was Olivia. She was pointing at something inside the pile of Storm. He turned to look and- people! Real, alive, non- withered people! They were climbing out of the Storm, some clutching their heads, some supporting others, some barely staying upright, but they were ALIVE! There was still hope for those who had gotten sucked in (Gabriel)! Not everyone died. Maybe no one died at all.

"We gotta go help the survivors." Jesse said, setting Reuben down. "Some people could be hurt."

Petra said/ mumbled something, her head tilted slightly, eyebrows scrunched together slightly, making direct eye contact with Jesse, and gesturing at him with a wave of her hand. She might have been saying _Are you okay, though?_ or _What about you?_ Jesse couldn't be sure anymore.

"Uh… I'm fine, Petra." he replied, hoping it was the right answer. It wasn't, or maybe it was and Petra didn't believe him, because she shot him a skeptical look before turning to Olivia and nodding. His group of friends spread out to help the people wandering aimlessly. Jesse decided to search for hurt people with Reuben.

He climbed over a tentacle, turned a corner, and as he predicted, there was at least one person trapped/ unable to move. Jesse moved forward and lifted the tentacle off of the man's torso, then took him by the hand and pulled him upright.

"Get to safety; there are people over there who can help you." he said to the man.

The man said something, probably _Thank you_ or something like that, and shuffled away. Jesse moved deeper into the Storm's corpse. It smelled pretty bad, like rotten flesh.

The next survivor he came across was also trapped under a tentacle. Jesse lifted it away, took the man by the hands and helped the man up. "Don't worry, it's all over now. My friends can help you."

Instead of saying 'Thank you" like the other man (probably) did, he gripped Jesse's hand before he could pull away and flipped it over, palm up. It was smeared with some blood. He frowned, looking straight at Jesse's face, then tapped his ear with his other hand. _It's coming from your ears,_ the man seemed to be saying.

Only then did Jesse realize that his ears had fallen silent long ago. No more high- pitched whistling. Just silence.

F- bomb explosion. Ears popping. Sharp, painful whistling. Having full armour except for boots and a _helmet._

"Oh." was all Jesse could say. He pulled a smile. "I'll be alright, thanks for telling me." He gently pulled his hand away from the man's gentle hold.

The man looked at Jesse for one last second, said something, and left. Jesse looked down at Reuben. He had a few blotches of blood on his skin too, now that he was looking closely. He kneeled down and wiped it away with the back of his hand. Reuben himself didn't seem to care, though, he was staring up at Jesse with wide black eyes that reflected concern. _You're deaf now, aren't you?_

"I know, Reuben." Jesse told him, standing up again. "The F- bomb blew out my ears. It was really loud."

Why was he feeling so depressed right now? Jesse had signed himself up to do this, he was to expect side effects like these. Wasn't this why he signed up in the first place, anyways? Because he didn't want it to be his friends instead?

Now that it wasn't there, Jesse realized just how important hearing was. It was how he understood his friends, how he knew if it were a zombie or a spider approaching him, how he knew if Reuben was happy or sad, how he knew who was who without looking, and countless of other things. How was he going to do all that now was the real question. Hand signals? Those only worked for more simple sentences. Writing things down? That wouldn't work in a battle. Have everyone yell directly in his ear? What if they had to yell across a room?

 _Think about it later, Jesse_ he thought to himself. _We've got to help the others first._ "C'mon, Reuben, we have to go help any people who could be trapped."

Reuben shot him a concerned look, but moved on anyways.

Jesse helped another man up, then turned another corner, expecting to see more trapped people, or wrecked terrain, but he DID NOT expect to see the Command Block, completely unscathed, sitting innocently on top of a pile of Wither. His stomach dropped to bedrock. The F- bomb didn't work at all! Soren said it would! His eardrums had exploded for nothing!

"What in the world…" Jesse gasped. "That's impossible!" he shook his head, stepping back. "It's… completely fine."

And then the Command Block "woke up". The console lit up, buttons blinking, and multicolored particles began to gather around it. The air temperature rose up a bit.

"Oh, that's not good." he muttered. "Guys! Over hee-!"

An invisible force yanked him backwards roughly, drawing him towards the Command Block. Jesse struggled frantically, trying to walk away from the Block, but it was no use. It was too strong. His feet left the ground as he rose up. He tried waving his arms. That didn't work either.

"Noo! Somebody, help me!" he shouted, loud enough that even he could hear himself faintly. Reuben tried to jump up and grab Jesse's feet, but he was too high up for him to reach. Jesse flailed wildly, but that didn't work either.

Suddenly, he was grabbed by the arms and pulled down, landing on the ground roughly, gasping for breath. Jesse scrambled up quickly and looked at the face of his rescuer.

It was Gabriel, completely alive and completely not dead like everyone had thought. His eyes were grey- er than usual, though, and his skin looked ashy and dull. Was he withering like Petra? No time to dwell on that, because the whole world seemed to be shaking as the Wither rose up again, pushing the Command block back into itself with its own ribs. They absolutely had to go _now._

"C'mon, Gabriel!" Jesse shouted over the roaring wind (He couldn't hear it, but he figured shouting was fitting for the current situation.). He helped Gabriel up. "We've gotta go now!" Jesse ran, but only got a few meters out before having to stop and run back for Gabriel, who hadn't moved at all.

"What are you doing? We have to go _now!_ " he shouted again, tugging on Gabriel's arm. He did not run, only turned around slowly with a dazed expression and said something Jesse could not hear.

"I'm sorry, I can't hear you, but we _really_ have to go now!" Jesse yelled back, forcefully dragging Gabriel along with him. Things had escalated from zero to a hundred way too quickly. Blackened blocks were flying everywhere, forcing Jesse to dodge them _and_ drag Gabriel through them too. The sky had darkened to a deep purple again, with swirling blocks as stars. Random trees were on fire. People were screaming and running away, only to be sucked up again.

Basically, the world had gone to s***.

Jesse spotted Axel, his hands over his head as he searched for something. Jesse called out to him. Axel's head immediately whipped towards Jesse, and his face brightened. He gestured to himself. _Get over here!_

Jesse ducked under a few blocks, hoping Gabriel didn't get whacked over the head, weaved around another block, and reached Axel. He said something, pointing to Gabriel, his eyes widened in surprise. _He's alive?_

"Yeah, he's alive. We need to get out of here, now!" Jesse said. Axel made the "follow me" gesture, and ran off, Jesse, Gabriel, and Reuben following him. He led them to a piece of land that jutted out, providing a shield of sorts. All his friends were huddled behind it. They seemed really glad to see him, and surprised to see Gabriel alive. Jesse took a moment to catch his breath.

Then, purple light washed over them, ripping away their shield, and they had to run. Jesse ran hard, only to stop abruptly to avoid crashing into an enderman. Why were they walking towards the Storm?

He kept running, stopping behind a tree to catch his breath (Gee, he needed to exercise more). Woo. Got a little dizzy for a second.

Soren was also behind that tree, but instead of running, he was staring at the endermen, distress clearly written across his face. He seemed torn on whether to run, or save his lifelong project. He was going to get killed if he stayed any longer!

"Stop staring and get a move on!" Jesse shouted. Soren turned to look at Jesse, and said something back, slightly angry. Probably telling Jesse off or something like that.

Before Jesse could say anything back, the tree was hit with a flaming skull, setting it on fire, forcing them to run some more. His heart was pounding. It was absolute chaos. Where were they running, again? Did any of them have a destination in mind?

Lukas was running alongside him, so when he stopped suddenly, Jesse automatically stopped too. He was yelling and pointing at someone behind them. Jesse turned around to look. Petra, being as sick as she was, couldn't run. Axel was supporting her and trying to help her speed up, but only succeeded in slowing himself down. They were going to get caught at this rate.

Olivia was beside him now, yelling some more stuff. This was getting very frustrating, not being able to understand anything being said.

They needed some way to go faster. Jesse looked around for anything that could help. Flaming tree? Nope. Didn't Axel still have a minecart? No wait, they'd have to lay down too much track, something they didn't have much of. Piggyback? No, that would still slow Axel down. Horses? Huh, that could work.

"Everyone, grab a horse!" he yelled, running up to the closest horse. He/ she used to belong to someone, because a saddle was already strapped on. And he (Jesse was just going to assume it was a he) was a beautiful white. Jesse liked white horses (not racist!).

"Woah, calm down, boy!" Jesse soothed the horse, his hands held out as if to pet him. When the horse had slowed down enough, Jesse swung himself on, balancing so he wouldn't fall off. His first horse, and he wasn't even Jesse's. Yay.

There weren't enough horses for everyone. Olivia and Axel were on one horse (with Reuben under Axel's arm), Magnus and Ellegaard on another, and Lukas with Gabriel. That left Petra and Soren, and Jesse couldn't take two extra people on one horse. Jesse had to figure something out quick, before a tractor beam sucked anyone up.

A fireball hit the ground, almost hitting Magnus and Ellegaard, who were in the back of the group. You know what? Screw it. Jesse was going to make everyone fit on the horse.

"Get on!" he said, grabbing Petra's hand and hauling her onto the horse. "Hold on really tight." She nodded, wrapping her arms around his waist.

Jesse then grabbed Soren's hand and help him on, behind Petra. "You've got to hold on really, really tightly, okay? I don't want you falling off or anything!"

Soren nodded and held tight. Jesse pressed his legs into the side off the horse, and they were off like a rocket. He gripped his sword in one hand and held the saddle with the other one so hard his knuckles were white. Jesse thought he heard Soren yelp in fear.

They galloped on, dodging mobs (or whacking them with his sword), tractor beams, and the occasional crater. It had started to rain, making his hair stick to his forehead and his grip slippery. He silently prayed Soren wouldn't slip off the rear end of the horse, because that would be really bad.

Smack that zombie. Jump over that crater. Swerve to the left. Duck (not quack). That was all Jesse was thinking about at the moment. That was all he could afford to think about at the moment. A moment's hesitation could cost him his life and two other's lives too.

Tractor beams were everywhere, sucking up terrain, mobs, and trees. Most of his concentration was on dodging those (mobs he could just jump over or whack). As Jesse watched, an enderman ripped out a chunk of a tentacle. Cool beans. Actually, now that he thought about it, the Wither had slowed down a bit since they had got on the horses.

Soren yelled something, pointing up at the Storm. Jesse spared a moment to take a glance. Endermen were all over the Storm, tearing and ripping away blocks with their hands, making the Storm growl and roar and get irritated. They were like annoying ticks on a dog. And they were slowing down the Storm.

"Are the endermen… distracting the Wither Storm?" Jesse wondered aloud. Soren replied something. Jesse turned back to the front…

...just as a fireball destroyed the bridge they were about to cross. Great. Just dandy. How very convenient.

His friends were already getting off their horses, taking out random blocks to build another bridge. Jesse took out some sandstone he had left from Boom Town and joined them. It was the fastest bridge he had ever built in his life. It was the only bridge he'd built so far, actually. Wow. So many firsts.

As soon as the bridge was complete, they were off, leaving the Wither Storm in the dust, having finally stopped due to the Endermen teleporting all over it. Jesse doubted the distraction would last very long.

Some time later, Axel pointed up at a mountain and said something. A cave to rest in, maybe? Probably was, because everyone else was nodding at him, and were now following him up the side of the mountain, to a ledge with a cave. It was high up enough that they could see the Storm, and placed well enough that they could make a quick escape if needed.

Finally. A place to rest and think about recent events.

Someone placed down a few fences as a temporary stable for the horses. Soren, Petra, and Jesse got off their horse last, and Jesse shut the gate and turned to his friends. Everyone looked so tired, especially Magnus and Ellegaard, with bags under their eyes from no sleep, dripping wet hair and clothes from the rain, and defeat in their eyes.

The F- bomb failed. And Jesse was now ninety- nine percent deaf because of it.

Jesse leaned against the (cold) stone wall, his head in his hand. What now? How was he going to do anything with his friends? He couldn't be in conversations without having to guess what was going on, he couldn't listen to his friends laugh, and therefore laugh at their jokes, and he just… couldn't do life the same anymore.

 _Get used to it._ A tiny voice in his head snapped.

 _Yeah, but that's hard._ Jesse mentally whined back.

 _Your friends will help you. When have they not?_

The voice was right. When have his friends _not_ helped him?

 _They can't help me hear properly again._

 _But they can help you cope._

Someone tapped him on the shoulder. A low mumble. Someone was talking to him. He raised his head.

It was Lukas. He was asking Jesse something. As soon as Jesse had raised his head, though, he did something Jesse had never expected of the (former?) Ocelot leader.

Lukas screamed, the cave only helping to amplify the sound enough that even Jesse could hear it. Lukas pointed at Jesse's face, and Jesse tried to lip- read what he was saying.

"... on his face….. blood!" he was screaming. The other were staring at him too, eyes alert and mouths gaping. Reuben was jumping up and down next to him, his eyes scrunched up in worry.

Jesse then realized that he had probably smeared his own blood across his face from when he had clutched his ears in pain. The rain wasn't hard enough to wash it all off. In fact, it just made it more watery and easy to smear.

Axel grabbed both of Jesse's hands and flipped them over, palms up. Everybody saw them. Blood was still smeared on them. It wasn't that much blood, but it was enough.

Jesse stared up at Axel and lip- read what he said next.

"Jesse, what the heck are you hiding?"

 **-o.0.o-**

 **Final word count (Author's note not included): 3425.**

 **Wow. That's a lot. I hope it isn't too much, though. I wanted to end this chapter at the cave, but I didn't know getting to the cave would take over 3000 words! I did most of this today, too. The other 4 days were spent typing and re- typing the beginning of the chapter. I hope the one I settled with was okay…**

 **But seriously, though, the reviews to the first chapter were positive and made me really happy and stuff, so I started this chapter 12 hours after the first one. I hope you like this one too, as I'm not so sure about the beginning…**

 **K bye. Leave a review on the way out! :)) (He's got a double- chin!)**


	3. Deaf, Deaf, Death

**Decibels chpt 3:** **Deaf, Deaf, Death**

 **haOVGE7RTVBVZJNJG[9A8tr #$^ &*behindschedulemusttypefaster #g**

 **And before I go on a typing marathon, I have to mention that Jesse is lip reading his friends throughout the chapter. "..." means words he didn't make out, and if there are any typos in anyone's but Jesse's dialogue, I put it there on purpose.**

 **Warning:** **Some language. Also, it may be confusing to read because there are so many "typos". But it had to be written that way, or else it wouldn't be realistic. So yeah..**

 **Disclaimer:** **Don't own Minecraft or Minecraft: Story Mode. If I did, people would be doing less stupid things and escaping so many places so much faster if they had just gotten their act together…. (Like punching the bookshelves to chase Ivor)**

 **-o.0.o-**

" _Jesse, what the heck are you hiding?"_

"I'm not hiding anything!" Jesse blurted out. He wasn't, right? He'd just _forgotten_ about telling his friends about his deafness and adrenaline made it slip from his mind.

"Then explain." Olivia ordered, gesturing to his bloody hands. "Explain … .. this. That … of blood didn't come from ..where." she said. Jesse couldn't catch some of the words. He hated himself for that.

"Um, okay. Okay. I'll explain where the blood came from." he said (why was he so nervous?). Nobody started shouting or laughing, so he assumed that's what everyone wanted. "It came from my ears. See?" Jesse brushed some hair away from his ears and tilted his head to show everyone. Soren jumped back. "That happened because I was too close to the Formidibomb when it exploded, and the force of the explosion, um, for lack of a better word, exploded my eardrums. And without functioning eardrums, you can't hear much."

"So you're deaf? Do … hear us? Do you …. know whuddai just said?" Lukas asked. When Jesse stared blankly at him, he sighed. "G..s not."

Everyone stared at him. Jesse stared back. Everyone kept staring at him. Ellegaard blinked. Reuben nudged his leg. Everyone just _stared_ at him like he had grown an extra eye or head. Like he had changed drastically. And in a sense, he had. Mentally.

Jesse cleared his throat. "Is everyone going to stare at me, or are we going to figure out what to do now, now that the F- bomb failed?" he asked. Now was not the time to worry over him, the world was literally being torn apart and they had to stop that from happening or else people would die. Maybe Jesse would cry, maybe he'd go wallow in self- pity, but not right now. There were more important things to do here. "The world is kind of important."

"Really, Jesse?" Axel asked, his eyebrow scrunched together in the middle in either frustration or anger. "You're dead (deaf? dumb?) now, and you d..t ev.n care? There's freakin' BLOOD co..ng out .. your ears, and all you …. .. say is 'Let's make a plan!'?"

"Axel!" Olivia admonished him. "What the heck?"

"Yeah." Petra added, frowning at Axel. "That was k..d of .nsensitive of you to say."

"Axel, you don't get to decide what my priorities are." Jesse said firmly. "Yeah, sure, maybe my ears _are_ bleeding. Maybe I _am_ deaf, and maybe I _should_ care, but at the moment, I _can't afford_ to _care_ right now. None of it will matter if the world ends."

Axel looked like he wanted to shake Jesse's shoulders, but decided against it. Jesse was glad he did. He didn't think his head would be able to handle the shaking.

"Okay." Jesse said. When no one moved to talk or stop him, he continued. "The Formidibomb failed. And now we have three Witherstorms to deal with."

It must've been blow- up- at- Jesse day or something like that today, because everything seemed to be blowing up in his face. First the Formidibomb, then the Wither, then Axel, and now Soren. He blew up. Big time.

"Yes! The FGjyfuodung (Formidibomb?) failed! It was sup...ed to work! And now we have three ofthesethings out there! Jesse!" Soren snapped, turning to him and approaching. "You were right there, what happened?"

"You know I'm deaf now, right?" Jesse deadpanned. "I didn't catch all of what you just said."

"You don't have to re..nd me!" Soren shouted, throwing his hands up in the air. He began to pace anxiously and angrily. Then he turned to Jesse again. "You did ev..thing as I instructed, what went wrong?"

"You're asking what went wrong, right?" Jesse asked, trying to keep his cool. Why was Soren so mad right now? They didn't need an angry architect on top of everything else.

"Yes I am! Of … I am!" Soren snapped. "Tell me: what happened?"

"It's the Command block we have to destroy, not the Witherstorm's body." Jesse answered. "The Formidibomb was strong enough to rip up the Storm, but the Command block was completely unharmed. Not even a scratch. It's just too strong."

"Soda come and block distill out there?" Soren asked. Wha- oh.

"Of course it is!" Jesse replied. "You saw the Storm come back to life, right?"

"Well great!" Soren snapped. "And to make…. worse, weave gone from one w….st..m, to three!" Soren then turned his back to Jesse and said some more stuff Jesse couldn't lip read. Lip reading was tiring and harder than he thought.

Soren was obviously angry now, pacing back and forth and muttering whatever under his breath and waving his arms about in frustration. Jesse could feel himself getting more irritated at Soren for being so mad for no reason. They didn't need a temper tantrum right now, they needed a plan! The world was being eaten up and Soren was throwing a temper tantrum, of all things to throw right now!

"Look, the point is that our plan _obviously_ didn't work, so we need a new one, pronto. The question is: What-do-we-do?" he asked, putting his hands on his hips.

"Ohhh well why are you asking me?" Soren asked, turning back to Jesse. "Am I ex(something) to know ev… …. ting in the universe?"

Okay. That was it.

"Pull yourself together, Soren!" Jesse snapped. Soren's head whipped up to face Jesse. "Of course you're not supposed to know everything in the universe- don't give me that look, I was lip reading, okay?- and that's not why I was asking you what to do! Why was I asking you what to do? You're the leader of the freaking Order of the Stone, that's why! You're a leader! You're good at making plans and stuff like that, right?"

Something flashed across Soren's face (was that shame?) before reverting into a scowl. "Oh, so eh….ting is put on mashoulders now, huh? It's always up to _me_ to lead!" Cue more high- speed- impossible- to -lip- read muttering and angry hand- gesturing.

"Well, who else is gonna lead?" Jesse asked him, crossing his arms. Once again, Soren stepped up right into Jesse's face. He randomly noted that Soren was taller.

"You, of course!" Soren answered. "You …. been the leader the entire time, have … ot? You have the amulet, you wore the e….an suit, _you_ vol…...red to craft the f- bomb! _You_ are the leader!"

"You think I can lead li- like _this?_ " Jesse swiped at his ears again and showed Soren his bloody fingertips. "I can't hear a thing, not unless you scream right into my ears! Heck, this entire time I've been _guessing_ every single word you've been saying! I can't even hear myself! I'll never be able to have a normal conversation, hear my friends laugh, hear Reuben oink, or anything! I simply _can't_ lead like this!"

It was simple. He just couldn't.

More staring. His outburst had been heard by everyone (how couldn't they hear it? They weren't deaf like he was). There were different emotions written on each of their faces: pity, sorrow, surprise, shock, sadness, and others he couldn't describe. Well, he had just yelled at _the_ leader of the Order of the Stone. That was something.

The words Jesse had spoken began to sink in. He was _fucking deaf._ Deaf, as in impaired hearing. Difficulty hearing. Hard of hearing. Not very good at hearing. No matter how he worded it, it still meant the same thing. _Deaf._ Deaf, deaf, deaf. Sounded kind of like Death. His hearing had died. A part of him had died. He was never going to be the same again.

"I am.." Jesse swallowed. ".. going to go wash off all this blood. You guys figure out a plan."

He turned and left the cave, Reuben trotting along. No one tried to stop him.

Jesse stood on the ledge that overlooked everything below them. It was snowing gently, melting as soon as they touched his skin. The wind felt cool and refreshing. In the distance, the silhouette of the three Witherstorms floated against a purple sky, tractor beams moving around and sucking up blocks. It wouldn't be too long before it would catch up with the group again.

He knelt down and shoved his hands into the snow, rubbing them together to wash off the blood. Reuben stayed by his side, occasionally nudging his leg with affection. The blood was under his nails too; disgusting. When Jesse was done with his hands, he scooped up a handful of snow and rubbed his face with it. When he was done with that too, he dropped the snow, and it landed on the ground, now stained pink. Reuben sniffed it.

"Ah, ew. Reuben, please don't sniff the snow." Jesse said. Reuben stopped sniffing the snow and looked up at him with his trademark wide, shiny black eyes. They reflected concern. (Was there something wrong with his blood?)

"I know, Reubs. Everyone is worried about me. It's not like I've blown up at them before." And he hadn't, honestly. The worst argument he had ever gotten into was between him and Axel, when he had tried to surprise Jesse with a creeper head mask and Jesse almost fell off the treehouse. They had yelled at each other briefly, but apologized to each other within five minutes and had gone on with their day. No one walked out on each other. No one cried (his eyes were suspiciously wet today- not from the snow), and no one was bleeding.

"But seriously, I'm deaf now, Reuben. Like, I won't ever be able to hear properly ever again. It's going to be harder to understand anyone or anything from now on."

Reuben didn't answer. Or maybe he did, and Jesse didn't hear it. See, this was what was upsetting him so much. He would always be guessing what the others were saying. He would never be one hundred percent sure what was going on unless someone wrote it down. He would always be in the unknown. He would always have to rely on others to tell him what was going on, and don't get him wrong, his friends were awesome, but having to get help all the time sort of made him feel… incapable. Weak.

Jesse took a few deep breaths to calm himself. The cold air filling up his lungs felt kind of fresh.

Fresh. A fresh start. Okay. He was going to start fresh and try to deal with being deaf, and was not going to lose it and yell at someone again. He had to do it, if not for himself, then for his friends so they wouldn't worry about him too much. And for the world, because it was dying.

He turned around to walk back into the cave when he saw something move out of the corner of his eyes. He halted mid step and drew his sword. Reuben nudged his leg, as if he were asking _what did you see?_

"Whoever's there, show yourself!" Jesse called out, into the darkness. "I'm not really in the mood for surprises right now!"

Something moved again, and his eyes flicked towards it. To his right, behind some trees, a silhouette stood, waiting. It was about as tall as he was, wearing some sort of robe. Jesse approached it cautiously, Reuben hiding behind his legs and shaking with fear. The silhouette made no moves.

When Jesse got close enough to see who it was, he almost yelped. He was not expecting _him._

"Ivor? What the heck are you doing here?" Jesse asked, pointing his sword at his face. "Were you following us?"

He answered something Jesse couldn't lip read. It was too dark.

When he had been staring for too long, Ivor scowled and said something again, his hands on his hips. He was still talking too fast. Everybody seemed to be talking too fast for him now. Jesse gave up on trying to understand him.

"You're coming with me." Jesse ordered, walking back to the cave. Ivor followed, strangely obedient. Why show up now, when he had been chasing Soren since… was is yesterday or today? Why creep up on them when he could just show himself? What did he want?

When Jesse entered the cave, everybody raised their heads/ turned towards him, concern written all over their faces, though that quickly turned to anger, disgust, and hate, the last one from the Order (Gabriel not included) when they saw who he had brought with him.

"Ivor! Wha. are .ou doing here?" Soren snapped (wow, so much snapping today), stalking over to Ivor. Jesse gladly stepped to the side for him.

"I came to offer my help." Ivor replied smoothly.

"Why d...nt you do that earlier?" Magnus asked, also stalking towards Ivor angrily. "We could- of used it." He glanced quickly at Jesse.

Ivor seemed to groan in frustration. "It's not like that! You need to here me out!" he said. "What yudont un...st..d is, you are all in very grave danger!"

Ellegaard laughed, her eyes alight with anger. "Obv...sly! We're being chased by three Wi.. !"

"No, I mean spec..cally this group!" Ivor elaborated, gesturing to all of them. "The Wi.. isn't ackting ran...mly, it's following Gabriel!" What now? This was getting too hard to follow.

"The Witherstorm is following Gabriel." Jesse said out loud. Lukas nodded, confirming what he was lip reading. A small shot of pride rushed through him. He got it right!

"Didn't you hear whaddai just said?" Ivor asked. "What are you, deaf?"

Remember that shot of pride? It died instantly. Jesse didn't need confirmation from any of his friends to tell him what Ivor had just said.

"Yes I am, in fact. The F- bomb did it." he ground out. "Y'now, super strong bomb that was supposed to destroy _your_ Witherstorm."

Ivor stared, a hint of surprise on his face. Was today "Stare at Jesse Day" or something?

"Whatever!" Soren cut in. "What did you mean when you said the Storm is fol...ing Gabriel?"

"You see.. I may have pro(something) it to follow his amulet." he explained. Wait, WHAT? Jesse stepped back in surprise.

The rest of the group burst into anger, yelling and shouting and glaring daggers and spears and Fomidibombs at Ivor. Jesse was also pretty angry, but not really at Ivor specifically. He was just.. angry at how messy the past few days had been. First the Witherstorm, then the Magnus/ Ellegaard feud, then Petra's Wither sickness, _then_ the whole find Soren in _the End_ of all places, and _then_ the Formidibomb fiasco. There was just so much stuff to deal with already, and then Ivor came and told them the Wither storm was programmed to follow the amulet, to follow _him._ Was there anything else he needed to know? Any more surprises?

"I had the amulet! Gabriel gave it to me!' he finally cried out, after getting over his anger. "And you didn't tell us earlier?" Jesse pulled out said amulet, and Ivor's eyes widened a bit.

"I- I didn't know." he stammered.

"I gave the amulet to you?" Gabriel questioned. No one answered him.

"Ughh, Ivor, you fool! You've cre...d a monster that's following Jesse!" Soren shouted. "And it's on.y g..ting stronger!"

"You don't think I re..ize that? Nothing can stop those things! Nothingeven hurts them!" Ivor snapped. He shook his head in frustration. "This is hopeless!"

Murmurs broke out across the cave as people talked. Jesse frowned. The Witherstorm- no, Command Block- was immune to the strongest TNT, any potions, probably swords, and most likely arrows too. It was pretty much indestructible.

"Endermen!" he blurted out. Cue more staring. "They were pulling blocks off the Witherstorm, right? While we were riding on the horses."

Soren's eyes widened in realization. "Jesse's right! The W..ter's gaze passed over them, and they went wild!"

A plan started to form in Jesse's mind. Endermen, instead of instantly getting sucked up the tractor beams, could teleport to the Storm and pull the Witherstorm apart. They'd get the Endermen from Soren's fortress.

He quickly dumped that plan, though. They were forgetting about the very thing that kept the Witherstorm alive: the Command Block. If it stayed, the Witherstorm stayed. They couldn't destroy the Witherstorm without having to destroy the Command Block too. And if the Command Block was indestructible.. Well. How were they going to solve this?

"... etting about the Command Block." Ellegaard was saying. "Is(something) that what keeps the Wi.. alive?"

"Oh, yes. It's clear now that no wepen can des..oy the Command Block, nod even a Formidibomb." Soren sighed.

Ivor frowned, deep in thought. He tapped his chin. "Ack-shully, I may have a sol-oo- tion to that. When I first took pos.. of the Command Block-"

"You mean stole." Soren interrupted with a scowl.

"Yes, well, I cre..ed a fai...afe. A backup plan. Just in case." Ivor said.

"Well, thanks for telling us earlier." Olivia muttered. At least it looked like she muttered. Jesse wasn't sure. He was lip reading all of this, not hearing it.

"So, I made som...ing." Ivor continued. "An encha..ing book, one that the power of the Command Block itself. Use it to ench..t a weapon, and you'll be able tosmash the Command block to bits. Forever."

Everyone seemed to be warming up to the idea of an enchanted super weapon strong enough to destroy the Command Block. Everyone was tired. They wanted to see and end to the Witherstorm. Jesse liked the idea too. There was no other way.

"Yes, yes, that's it!" Soren exclaimed. "It could very well solve all our probl..ms!" He seemed excited.

"What are we waiting for?' Axel asked. "Let's go get that book!"

"Just one problem." Ivor interjected. "It's at my lab, which is sort of far away."

"How far could it poss..bly be?" Magnus asked. "It can't be too far, right?" Jesse was with him on that one. It wasn't in the End or high up in the sky somewhere, right? Or underwater?

Ivor grimaced. "Let's just say it's the farthest place a person can travel before being utt..aly-'

He stopped talking abruptly, and his head whipped towards the mouth of the cave, as did everyone else's heads. Jesse didn't hear anything.

"Um, guys? What did you hear?" Jesse asked. For a moment, everyone seemed surprised Jesse hadn't heard whatever they heard, but his friend's faces fell when they remembered he was deaf now. He felt his own mood plummet. He didn't like getting reminded of _that_ fact.

"The Storm. It's getting closer." Petra mouthed (or said) slowly, so Jesse could lip read it easily. Jesse mentally made a note to thank her for that later.

Everyone filed out of the cave and onto the ledge, staring out at the Storm in front of them. It had gotten considerably closer over the short amount of time they had stopped. Had the endermen been killed? Or did they just give up on moving Wither blocks and left?

"Wow." Olivia gasped. "That was fast."

Ivor said something, and moved to stand in front of Jesse. "...not safe, as long as we have that amulet." he finished, gesturing to the amulet still in Jesse's hands. The whole amulet glowed, even the middle. They had assembled the entire order.

A hand suddenly grabbed the amulet, and Jesse almost yanked the whole thing away in surprise. He looked up. It was Axel's hand. He was saying something.

"Could you repeat that slowly?" Jesse asked. Axel's face fell even further than he already did. No one was used to the fact that he was deaf now. When would they? Would they ever?

"I'll take it." he repeated slowly. "I'll take the amulet to Soren's place."

"Axel, are you sure?" Jesse asked him. "The Witherstorms will be following you everywhere!"

"I'll be fine." he said (again, slowly). "If it gets too rough, I'll just duck into the Nether or something."

Jesse really didn't want to let go of the amulet, now that he knew the Witherstorms were tracking it. Axel would be in danger. Jesse didn't like the idea of one of his friends being in danger. Well, in _more_ danger, anyways. The whole world was already in danger. But Axel seemed to have a deeper reason to why he was doing this. Was it guilt, like Petra's guilt about the Wither skull? Was it about taking the potion back at Ivor's basement?

"Alright." Jesse sighed. He had no reason to _not_ let him take it. He let go of the amulet. Axel grinned.

"Great! I'm tired of always being the selfish one." Axel said. "I'll meet you back at Soren's fortress."

"I'm staying here with Gabriel and Axel." Magnus announced. "He can..even take carof himself right now."

"I'll stay too." Ellegaard announced, stepping forward. "Besides, I'm not going anywhere with _Ivor._ " She put her hands on her hips and scowled. Ivor scowled right back.

"Alright, it's decided." Lukas said, slower than normally. Was everyone speaking slower for him? "Ellegaard, Magnus, Gabriel, and Axel will go back to Soren's fortress. Everyone else will go with Ivor to his lab."

The next minute was spent preparing the horses and themselves for the journeys they were about to take. Jesse gave back his armour pieces to their respective owners.

"But Jesse, you might need it." Ellegaard protested.

"The Witherstorms will be following you, not me." he reasoned. "I'll be fine."

Ellegaard frowned, but accepted her armour back anyways. Magnus did the same. Jesse randomly noted how cold it was, now that the armour was gone. Were his friends this cold the entire time?

When he was preparing his horse (was it his horse now?), he noticed the dried bloodstains interrupting the white hair on his neck. Another reminder of his new handicap. He sighed. Would he ever get used to deaf life? Would he ever get used to always having to lip read everything? Would he ever live normally again? So many questions but no answers.

He led his horse out to the ledge, and just as he was about to mount him, someone tapped his shoulder. Jesse turned around. It was Axel again.

"Hey. Let's try our handshake again. Just once. For the road." he suggested.

Jesse cracked a smile. "The Builder Bump? You got it."

Just as he was raising his hand, Axel pulled back, grinning. "Real heroes don't need handshakes to be awesome." he said.

"Right." Jesse agreed. He knelt down, picked up Reuben, and climbed onto his horse. "I'm ready to go." he called to Ivor. He nodded.

"Let's go." Soren (who was sharing a horse with Ivor) pressed his legs into the sides of his horse, and he began to move. Everyone else followed in a line, down the mountain, and then south, as Ivor instructed.

They were off to make a super weapon. To defeat the Command Block.

And now Jesse was deaf. He'd never be the same again. Would anyone be the same again after this?

 **-o.0.o-**

 **Final word count (Author's notes not included): 3871**

 **If you didn't read the Author's note at the beginning of the chapter, it basically said that Jesse was lip reading everything, which is why some of the words are misspelled or are broken up by "...". Was it confusing to read? Maybe a little. But you were supposed to feel a little confused, or maybe even frustrated, because Jesse sure as heck is. (Please don't hate me for making this chapter too confusing!)**

 **And sorry about the later update. I was supposed to update on wednesday, but then I got sick… so yeah. I probably should've warned you in the beginning that updates will not be regular.**

 **Who saw the trailer for episode 7? I'm so excited! 2 more days!**

 **Remember to leave a review on your way out, and you're more than welcome to tell me how I can improve. I'm always up for improving.**

 **Bye! :)) (Double chin on fleek!)**


	4. Dammit, Ivor!

**Decibels chpt. 4:** **Dammit, Ivor!**

 **UQ^77yuHUy^*68t7668y there are two pages of reviews now! Yay!**

 **I was supposed to start this chapter yesterday, but then I saw someone had posted a playthrough of episode 7, so I got sidetracked… and now I have more planning to do!**

 **Question:** **I use Google Docs to type up chapters, and then I copy and paste into FFN. The indents in my paragraphs do not show up. Anyone know how to fix this? Thanks.**

 **And now, on to the next chapter, which I don't know the name of yet. I always name my chapters after typing them.**

 **Disclaimer:** **You already know it.**

 **-o.0.o-**

Jesse couldn't remember the last time he slept **.**

Was it the night before Endercon? Oh yeah, it was, because he had spent that night dreaming about winning the Building Competition. That was a good dream… No, wait, the last time he slept was in the dirt hut...no, that didn't count as sleeping, because he kept waking up every two seconds and the mob noises made him tense.

That was several days ago. Between the last time he had slept and now, he had won a building competition, ran from a living storm, assembled the Order (and became king of Boom Town!), set off a super bomb, gone deaf, ran some more, and now he was riding a horse. Which was more tiring than he'd thought it would be.

He sighed and rubbed his face to wake himself up. He was tired. Mentally and physically. How much longer would this whole thing go on for? How long would everyone else hold up before something happened? Why was horse- riding so tiring?

Several hours later, everyone was still on their horses, still facing the same direction they were facing hours ago, and still in the same formation they were in hours ago. This was, without a doubt, boring. No one talked. No one smiled. No one did anything besides stare forwards.

So… soo... _boring._

Finally, Lukas turned around and asked "Are we there yet?" Which was the most interesting thing that had happened so far.

"Almost there!" Ivor had replied. Or something like that. Jesse was guessing this stuff, okay?

But they weren't almost there. _Hours_ after Lukas had spoken, they were still "on the road", though there was no road to follow, only Ivor. Miraculously, no one had fallen asleep yet. Well, Ivor did, briefly, before being jolted awake by an annoyed Soren.

"This .s _your_ mess we're ." Soren had snapped. "You don't get .o fall asleep."

The group passed through biome after biome, some Jesse had seen before, and some he hadn't. There was one biome that looked like a desert, but the sand was red and the hills had different coloured stripes made of different coloured clays (and a lot of dead bushes). Another biome had weird ice spikes sticking out of the ground. Those were interesting to look at. For a second. Then he got used to the view and sank back into boredom.

More than once - actually, more than a few times, Jesse caught one of his friends staring at him, or rather, his ears. He knew there was still blood in them; he didn't wash them out because the snow wasn't exactly clean and he didn't want an infection. He'd do that later.

No. That wasn't the reason. They kept glancing at him because they were worried about him. Worried about how he was dealing with being deaf. Nothing Jesse said or did would make them stop worrying, so he ignored them. Ignoring was easy to do when you're deaf.

Jesse shivered as they passed through another snow biome. This was, what, the fifth biome? Sixth? Seventh? Yeah, the seventh. Was it the seventh? He had stopped counting days ago. Or was is a week now?

"Are we there yet?" Jesse finally asked out loud. They'd passed through so many biomes he lost count, which is a lot, if you think about how big some of the biomes were. And how good at counting Jesse was. Just kidding. (But he was good at counting!)

Ivor's jaw moved; he had said something. Only he was in front of Jesse, and hadn't turned around to say it, so he had no idea what Ivor had said, or if he was just unclenching his jaw or something like that.

"Was that an answer?" he asked.

Ivor whirled around (as much as he could on a horse, anyways), glaring at Jesse as if he were saying _Are you stupid?_ Then his eyes flickered to his ears, and his glare immediately softened. Jesse caught that.

"No, we are not there yet." he answered slowly, so he could lip read it easily.

"Okay."

He felt everyone else's gaze digging into the back of his head. They'd heard the little exchange.

Day turned into night, and night into day, then into night, then day, then night. Jesse and his friends traveled for _so many days_. He could feel himself getting increasingly frustrated as the days wore on. He was exhausted. He was bored. His bum was sore. He was deaf and couldn't hear anything, which only made the journey even more boring. And his friends, as much as he loved them, were staring at him too much. It was getting on his nerves.

They were slowly trudging through a swamp when his horse stopped suddenly, as did everyone else's. Everyone but Jesse had been talking to each other about something, but he couldn't be bothered to care right now. He was too tired to lip read it all, especially since he would have to guess so much stuff. His brain was devoid of energy.

"Why are we stopping?" Jesse asked, turning his horse around so he could see everyone. "Is something wrong?"

"..ine, but I'm taking a break." Olivia was saying. She dismounted her horse.

"So am I." Soren said, getting off his horse too.

So they were stopping to take a break. About time, too.

Jesse got off his horse, helped Reuben off too, then stretched his tired legs and arms. It felt so good to finally be able to stop! Not that he _didn't_ want to get to Ivor's lab quickly, but.. he just needed a break.

"I'm gonnago (gonna go?) find .ome food." Lukas announced. He walked off into the swamp. Jesse could imagine the squelching noise every time his foot sank into the mushy grass and mud.

Olivia sat down on the grass, Reuben stood next to her, Petra leaned against a tree, Soren stood next to Petra, deep in thought, and Ivor wandered off into the swamp, maybe to go look for food too. Was he trying to redeem himself by helping?

Jesse settled for sitting down next to Reuben, hugging his knees and resting his head in his arms. Would it be okay if he took a nap right now? How long did they plan to take a break? When would be the next time they would be able to stop and rest? Why was he asking so many questions? Screw it, he was too tired to think of an answer. How many times had he mentioned the fact that he was tired?

Being deaf meant he didn't have to worry about noise, which meant he could go to sleep in the loudest conditions, if he wanted to. Needless to say, Jesse fell asleep right then and there. He dreamed of the Formidibomb working, and celebrations afterwards, though everything was strangely muffled and sometimes his friend's voices would just abruptly cut off, even though their lips were still moving. It was disorienting. Was he always going to dream like this now? Oh look, more questions being asked. His mind liked to do that when he was tired.

Dream- Jesse was kneeling down to pet Reuben when something or someone tapped his shoulder from behind, making him whirl around to see who it was. No one was close enough to him to have touched him. Was someone using an invisibility potion? He drew his sword and swiped at the air around him. Nothing happened.

Then there was a sharp pain on his arm, so sudden that it yanked him out of his dreams and made his head jerk up sharply. Lukas had pinched him hard, a panicked expression on his face. As soon as Jesse made eye contact with him, Lukas yelled "We have to go!", yanked him up on his feet and started to run. What was going on?

Jesse's question was answered when the rest of his friends ran past him, hands over their heads, panic on their faces, arrows and splash potions hitting the ground behind them. Skeletons and witches. They were the worst. He shook himself awake and ran after them.

"..arlands are just beyond this swamp!" Lukas was shouting.

"Where is Ivor?" Soren asked. Jesse quickly scanned the group. Ivor wasn't with them. Why did he leave? They needed him to guide them through his lab!

"I dunno, he diss..eared outside th. .itch's hut!" Lukas answered. Ivor disappeared outside the witch's hut. Dammit, Ivor!

"Curse fool o. a man!" Soren cursed. Jesse mentally agreed with him. They continued to run, leaving the swamp behind them. The distance between the mobs and them grew bigger and bigger. The sky seemed to get lighter and lighter. The grass turned greener.

They ran for quite a bit, almost as long as when they were running away from the Storm at Endercon. The witches and skeletons were long gone by now.

"Guys, I think we lost the- woah." Jesse ground to a halt. He probably looked like a gaping fish. But he had a good reason to!

Before him, a _massive_ wall stretched up into the skies. It was made of stone and dirt, but not solid stone and dirt, more like… sideways pillars, parallel to the ground. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen. It wasn't just the wall thing that took his breath away, the surround nature did too. There were random fragments of rain scattered all over the place. Parts of the trees were made of stone and clay. It was beautiful and strange at the same time, and Jesse was starting to see why someone would want to live here.

"It's like we're at the edge o. .he world!" Olivia exclaimed.

" .y, we seem tubey at the corner of it." Soren corrected her.

"It looks so cool." Petra said. They began walking towards an entrance gate thing that was at the base of the wall of .. awesomeness. Seriously, this place was cool.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder. It was Lukas. He was holding a slice of cake that he must've snagged from a witch's hut or something like that. It would explain why a witch was chasing them earlier.

"Want some?" Lukas was mouthing slowly. "You look like you could use some food."

"Thanks." Jesse thanked Lukas and accepted the cake. He took a huge bite from it. Yum. It felt so good to finally eat something. Something delicious, too. As nasty as a witch could be, they made a mean cake. And it was still warm, which was an added bonus. It made the whole "Ivor abandoned us" thing easier to deal with.

They approached the entrance to Ivor's lab. It was dark, and long, because Jesse couldn't see the other end. A cold wind blew, carrying the smell of wet stone and earth. You know, typical tunnel stuff.

"This is it." Soren said. "Ivor's lab is just down this tunnel." He began walking down said tunnel. Jesse and the others followed him. Maybe their footsteps echoed on the stone floor.

The tunnel was shorter than Jesse thought it would be, as they reached the other end within three minutes of entering it. It opened up into a _huge_ cave, seemingly bottomless, too. Stalactites hung from the ceiling. In front of them was a crumbling stone brick wall, with overgrown vines creeping between the cracks. It smelled old.

"... a maze?" Olivia was saying. Huh. Now that Jesse looked closer, the wall had a split to the side, only it wasn't a split, but an entrance to a maze, which looked just as old as the wall. Everything looked old here.

"So… maybe we should _not_ just wandering the world's largest maze without a guide." Lukas said.

"Unfortu..tly, this seems to be the only way forward." Soren sighed.

"There has to be another way!" Olivia protested. "A secre. door, or… I don't know."

"Let's look around." Jesse suggested. "If we can't find anything then we go through the maze."

"Sure. That works." Petra shrugged. They split up and looked around. There really wasn't much to look at. Just wall.

Jesse wandered off to the right side of the wall, where it wasn't as cracked and the flowers were growing. A natural spotlight, created by a hole in the roof of the "cave" highlighted the vines growing on the wall. They snaked up the wall and reached the top.

"Hey guys, we can-!" Jesse turned around to tell his friends what he found, only to be met with a horde (herd? mob?) of zombies that were pouring out of the maze. It was either a trap, or the zombies were just there and had heard them coming in. They stalked towards him, leaving him no way to go around, through, or over them. Wait a minute, he could..

"Guys! Climb the vines!" he shouted. Without waiting to see if his friends listened, he grabbed the vines and scaled the wall quickly, even though he knew the zombies couldn't follow him up. As soon as he got to the top, he stood up and looked for his friends.

"Aw, come on." Jesse muttered. He was separated from everyone else (and Reuben!) by the entrance of the maze. How very convenient. He waved at them.

"Everyone okay?" he yelled. They all nodded. He couldn't lip read a thing; they were too far away.

"Um.. let's just go that way" Jesse pointed to his right, towards the middle of the maze, "and find a place where the paths meet or something!"

Soren nodded, and they turned away and walked off. Jesse also turned around, taking in the view and the sheer size of the whole maze. It was massive. How were they ever going to find a way through the thing? He silently cursed Ivor again. Why did he have to bail on Lukas at the swamp?

Jesse's eyes narrowed as he zoomed in on some sort of structure near the end of the maze, highlighted by another natural spotlight. That must be Ivor's lab! He needed to get there.

He began walking. He had a looong way to go.

 **-o.0.o-**

 **Final word count: 2330**

 **I'm typing this on the 3rd, but I'm going to post this tomorrow 'cause I'm tired. Good night.**

 **AAAANDDDDD good morning! Today's chapter is more of a filler chapter, because originally, it was supposed to go all the way to getting to Ivor's lab, but that would add an extra 2 thousand words or so, and I feel like ending it off here was good enough anyways. So yeah!**

 **By the way, I have a poll up on my profile asking about including other people's POVs in this fanfic, so voting on it will help me decide what to do! Though the final decision is still mine….. I also have a collection on google plus where I post updates on this fanfic, and maybe I'll post some art there as well.**

 **This author's note is too long now. Bye! :))**


	5. Are you okay, though?

**Decibels chpt.5:** **Are** _ **you**_ **okay, though?**

 **Over 1000 views! How is this happening to me? O_0 Seriously, one hour it's 950 ish, I come back after dinner and there's an extra digit!**

 **Before I forget this, a very special thanks to Toni42 for mentioning me in her (or his) story "Movie Mode", which can be found in the MCSM section of this website. Go read it! It's about the gang watching MCSM together, along with the Order and the Ocelots. Also, it's updated quite regularly, unlike someone *cough* me *cough*. Yeap.**

 **Warning:** **A bad word somewhere. Like, one or two. I think it's one.**

 **Disclaimer:** **If you need help, go to the top of your screen. It'll tell you if this is fanfiction or original.**

 **-o.0.o-**

Did Jesse mention how freaking _huge_ this maze was?!

Because it was _gargantuan._ Stone walls twisted in all directions. Vines were everywhere. He couldn't tell where the maze ended. Or maybe it was just his frustration that came from _hours_ of _useless_ wandering that made it seem so impossible and big! _Dammit, Ivor_! If only he had just _stayed_ with them, they would be done with this so much faster! Every second wasted was another town destroyed, or another poor person lost, or another second Axel, Gabriel, Magnus, and Ellegaard were in danger. He hoped they were okay.

He hit another dead end. Mindlessly, he turned away and walked down another wall. He'd been at it for hours, give or take a few minutes. He'd been trying to get to the lab, which was _right there,_ but none of the paths he took would lead himin the right direction.

Jesse had lost sight of the others a while ago; he had turned one way, turned back, and they were gone. If they had fallen, he hoped they weren't too hurt. Especially Petra and Reuben. Not that he didn't care about the others!

Petra… she had Wither Sickness. Was it deadly? Was it going to kill her? Would destroying the Witherstorm even cure her? What would they do if it didn't?

He was looking down so he wouldn't trip on a vine and fall when he was knocked backwards by a spider that came out of nowhere. Jesse was surprised he hadn't run into any mobs until now. He didn't have time for this.

"Get off! Get off!" Jesse yelped, pushing it away with his arms. He unsheathed his sword and slashed at the spider, sending it backwards and off the wall. Then his sword snapped and combusted in his hand.

"Shoot!" he cursed. Now he was unarmed and alone, with no armour. Absolutely fantastic. Well, he had a bow, but he wasn't very good with one anyways. The sooner he got the super- weapon, the better.

He shook his head. What gave him the right to decide who gets the super- weapon?

Jesse continued walking. Walking was boring. And he kept running into dead ends, which wasn't helping his sanity (not that he was ever insane!). If only Ivor had stayed! Wait, he'd already thought that thought. But seriously! What was Ivor thinking, abandoning them like he did? The world's existence depended on them making the super weapon as soon as possible! This maze was slowing them down, wasting time they couldn't afford to waste. He was kind of pissed, for lack of a better word. Everyone was pissed, probably.

He raised his head to check his surroundings and location when something out of the corner of his eyes caught his attention. He squinted. Were those… slime blocks? And pistons? Was this some sort of redstone contraption? It was so out of place, compared to the stone maze. He needed to get closer.

Olivia had tried to build something like that before, only she tried to use wool instead of slime, as they didn't live anywhere near a swamp, and slime balls were expensive. She had wanted to make a "flying ride". Could the machine Jesse just saw fly everyone to the lab? It seemed like too much to hope for, but it was better than wandering aimlessly. He started to make his way towards it. Yay, more walking. Did he mention how boring walking was?

He was walking under a floating island (they were everywhere) when he saw a smidge of red, green and pink again the brown of the dirt. It was Olivia and Reuben!

"Hey Olivia, Reuben!" he called out. They did not turn around. They hadn't heard him. Oh well. At least they were alive and well. He turned around to keep walking, only to come face to face with a witch. Even more fantastic than the spider!

Jesse pulled out his bow, notched an arrow, and then duck as the witch threw a potion at his face. It sailed over his head and disappeared. He then drew back the string, took aim, and fired. It knocked him/her back a little, lodged itself into his/ her nose and stayed there.

The witch lobbed another potion at his head. Jesse ducked, notched another arrow, and fired again, this time hitting the witch in the chest. He/ she fell off the edge of the wall, and maybe died too.

"Anndd now I only have one arrow left." he muttered. He put away the bow and arrow and continued on his way. More dead ends. More corners to turn. More of the world being destroyed.

By some amazing miracle, Jesse came across a crumbling bit of wall he could easily climb down, and it lead him straight to the piston- slime thing. He hopped down the crumbling slope and landed on a grass ledge that overlooked a seemingly bottomless abyss (were all abysses bottomless?). Right in front of him, but very far away, Ivor's lab stood in it's spotlight, standing on some sort of island, and separated from him by the abyss. Yep, the slime machine was definitely for riding.

Jesse turned to the chest that sat next to a crafting table. A crafting table and chest placed next to each other practically screamed "Craft something!" to him. He opened the chest.

"Redstone….and a slimeball." he muttered as he took those items out of the chest. "These are definitely for the flying machine."

Jesse turned back to the machine and studied it. He had exactly nine redstone, which could be used to make a redstone block, but did this machine need a redstone block to work anyways? There was one already there. The slimeball was probably for a sticky piston, but he couldn't figure out where it would go. He sucked at redstone. If only Olivia was here! She'd know what to do.

As if the secret "god of conveniences" had blessed him, someone tapped him on the shoulder, making him jump and squeak in surprise. He was too deep in thought to notice anyone coming up behind him. It was Olivia and Reuben.

"Sorry!" Olivia immediately apologized. Jesse quickly looked over her for injuries. She (and Reuben) looked pretty unscathed, aside from a bit of dirt smudged on Olivia's left cheek.

"At least you're not dead." he smiled. He knelt down to pet Reuben. "Glad you're okay too, boy."

Reuben's eyes seemed to shine with happiness.

"Where are the others?" he asked Olivia, straightening back up.

"We split up." Olivia explained slowly, looking a little sheepish. "We .t we woul. .over more ground way. I don't know wear day went."

"I hope they're alright." he frowned. Splitting up would cover more ground, yes, but was it really worth the risk of getting separated for an unknown amount of time?

Olivia huffed. "Dis maze… we don't .ave time for this." she walked towards the edge of the ledge they were on, looking out over the abyss. "Who even knows wear. .he .thers are by now?"

Jesse assumed she was wondering where the others were. He didn't really feel like telling her to slow down. He needed the practice anyways, if he was going to be lip reading for the rest of his life. He couldn't tell them to speak slower forever.

"We really need to find out what happened to the others." he said. "They could be hurt or stuck in some trap or something."

Olivia stared across the abyss, at the lab. "I wonder if tey fowned some way acros. this gapin. .ottomless pit… I it drops forevr."

"Actually," Jesse turned back to the flying machine. Olivia followed him. "You've tried to make one of these .. um, 'flying machines', right? Could this get us across.?"

Olivia moved in front of him to examine the machine. "Yeah, it's a . But it's in .ad shape. And it's really com pl...ted."

"But you can fix it though, right?" Jesse asked. "You're pretty good at redstone."

"I dunno…" Olivia rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "I it's outofmy leeg. And the one I made didn't wurk anyways."

"I can help you look." he offered.

"How can .ou help I don. .ven .now wear to start?" she retorted. She was visibly frustrated.

Jesse watched as she paced around the machine, her eyes narrowed as she analyzed it. She pursed her lips. He had known Olivia long enough that when she pursed her lips, it meant she was puzzled, confused, or unable to solve something. She said a few things, but her back was facing him so he couldn't read it.

After a while of analyzing and pacing, Olivia sat down, her shoulders slumping. She looked pretty dejected. Reuben tilted his head in concern.

"Woah, what's wrong?" Jesse asked, kneeling so he was eye- level with Olivia and shuffling to the left so he could see her face. "Did you figure something out?"

"No! The oposit!" Olivia said. "I can't figur. it out."

"Yes you can, Olivia!" Jesse urged. "Just look harder."

"Elle .ard said I don't .ave whadit .akes to be a gre.t engi..eer." Olivia continued on, as if Jesse wasn't really there. Or deaf. "She w.s rig.t, I just can't hac. it!"

"Then prove her wrong!" Jesse told her, reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder. "Show her what you're made of!" He hoped that it was the right response to whatever Olivia had said.

Olivia scowled. "Proove her wrong? Jesse, she's t.e gratest . .edstone engine.r- ever!" She got up and paced a little, then stopped, turning to face Jesse again. "She's in the Order o. .he Stone!"

"Sure, maybe she is in the Order, but the Order are still people, like you and I." he pointed out, also standing up.

"Just like us. Just like us." Olivia repeated. "How are .e the ones to save .he .orld if even .hey don't .ave whaddit takes?" She put her hands on her hips and glared. "Soren and Ivor ar. .lways at each 's throats..." Olivia turned around to face Ivor's lab and said something unreadable. Jesse walked a few steps to stand beside her.

"If the Order can't do it," Olivia sighed, "how arewe to?" She finally looked Jesse in the eyes, searching for answers. He knew what searching for answers felt like.

"Sometimes I wonder how I'm still doing this." he answered, after a moment. "I'm deaf now, I've been lip- reading you this entire time, and I have no way of knowing for sure if what you're saying is the same as what I'm reading. It's frusterating. So how am I still standing? Why haven't I curled up in a ball and cried yet?"

Jesse paused, thinking. "The world needs us, Olivia, and I feel that the world is more important right now than dealing with this." He waved at his ears. "I suck. Axel is big and strong and knows what to blow up and when, you're the redstone mastermind who can wire together a solution almost anywhere, Lukas won the building competition multiple times, Petra kicks butt, and the Order is, well, the Order. What am I? Just some dude with a pig. If I can stay standing, you can too."

Olivia sighed again, straightening a bit. She muttered something that Jesse couldn't quite make out, but it looked like "Your...more sp..cial than .ou think." She shook her head.

"Alwite. I'll look at it. I'll try .t one mor. time." Olivia finally relented. She walked back to the flying machine and knelt down for a closer look. Jesse stood behind her, waiting. He would never be able to understand redstone.

After a few seconds (wow, that was fast), she stood up, saying something much too fast for anyone to read. She turned to Jesse, handed him a piston, and blurted out some sort of order, or instruction, or something along those lines. He stood on the spot, staring at the piston in his hands, trying to figure out if Olivia wanted it turned into a sticky piston or place it somewhere.

"Could you repeat that?" he asked. Olivia's face fell. She'd forgotten. Or she was so used to Jesse being able to hear her that instinct took over and she spoke fast.

"Turn that into a sticky piston." she repeated, almost painfully slowly. Jesse mentally cringed. "Then place it on the other side of the machine, along with a redstone block."

"Got it." he said. She nodded and went back to examining the machine. Jesse turned to the crafting table. He crafted the sticky piston first, since the piston was already in his hands, and then he crafted the redstone block. As useless as he was at redstone, crafting was something everyone knew how to do. Deaf or not.

As soon as he was done, he walked to the other side of the machine (Reuben following him), where Olivia had told him to place the stuff. Though _where_ in the back was he supposed to place them?

He took a wild guess and stuck the piston to the side of a slime block, and then the redstone block below and diagonal to the piston. He could've asked Olivia for help, but she looked so concentrated and determined that Jesse didn't want to ruin it.

"There!" Olivia said. So that meant Jesse did everything right. "We just ne.d an. steel to get it ."

"I knew you could do it, Olivia." Jesse said, moving to stand beside her. The redstone blocks were glowing, ready to be activated.

"Thanks, Jesse!" Olivia smiled. Then (it could have been his imagination) her smile dimmed a little. "And.. for every..ing you said before. It .eally helped."

"No problemo." Jesse high- fived her. The Order of the Pig's luck was changing!

Now they had to wait for the others to get here. Were they okay? If they had actually found another way across, what were they doing?

Reuben suddenly began to sniff the air, moving a bit towards the maze exit that Olivia had come out of. Someone or something was coming.

As if the god of Plot Conveniences had blessed his again, the others emerged at a full sprint (Petra not so much). They were being tailed by a horde of zombies, and the zombies were catching up to them. They had to move now.

"Everyone, onto the machine!" he shouted. They all rushed past him and climbed on, Olivia scooping up Reuben in the process and Lukas helping Petra get in. The moment everyone was on, Jesse whipped out his flint and steel and made a random spark on one of the slime blocks. Immediately, the machine whirred to life, and the boats began to shuffle away, towards the edge of the ledge and Ivor's lab.

Jesse turned around and almost yelped. The zombies were dangerously close to him. He ran.

"Jesse!" Lukas shouted. The machine was approaching the ledge rapidly. He had to jump it.

He jumped, grabbing the edge of the boat and using the stickiness of the slime block to plant his feet on them and pull himself up. He straightened up and looked back at the zombies. One fell off the ledge stupidly. Well, they were never smart to begin with.

"Is everyone okay?" Jesse asked, as soon as he caught his breath. He was on a boat with Reuben and Olivia, and Soren, Petra, and Lukas were on the other, Petra being the only one sitting down. She didn't look too well.

"For the moment." Soren said, a hint of fear on his face. He looked down and gulped. Soren was afraid of either flying or heights. Jesse looked down. What would happen if he fell off? Would he just fall forever and die of hunger, or would he die of pressure, suffocation, or fear? Heck, what _is_ the abyss even called? The Farland Pit?

It was silent for the rest of the ride (of course it was). Soren was definitely afraid of flying. Jesse couldn't help but grin. Soren, leader of the Order of the Stone, was afraid of flying, of all things, which was nothing compared to the Ender Dragon.

The machine automatically stopped as soon as it touched the floating island. They disembarked. Ivor's lab loomed over them. Finally. They had made it through the Maze of Time- Wasting and were one step closer to saving the world.

"Let's go." Lukas said. The group began walking up the stairs leading to the lab. The doors were made of iron, with pressure plates to walk over that would open the doors. They entered, cautiously. Who knew what Ivor had in there?

They were greeted with the sight of bookshelves. Lots of bookshelves. Glowstone was dotted here and there, as well as glowing lapis ores. Potions lined the shelves. Webs stretched between the rafters. Chests were also placed randomly among the bookshelves. Nothing moved. No traps were sprung.

"That's a lot of books." Petra observed.

"Kin. o. .ooks like the basement bac. at Endercon." Lukas added.

"We should be careful, this place coul.. be booby- trapped." Olivia warned.

"Let's start looking for the enchanting book, then." Jesse sighed. "If only Ivor had stayed.. This whole thing would be easier."

Everyone nodded, then spread out to browse the countless books for an enchanting book, maybe with the title "How to Defeat a Witherstorm" or "Command Blocks 101" Or even "Use Me to Destroy the Command Block". Wouldn't that be so much easier?

It soon became clear, however, that finding the enchanting book could quite be more frustrating than the maze. It was all disorganized, different genres mixed together. Who puts "How to Griefer- Proof your House" and "Adventures of the Ghast Whisperer" together? Once again, _dammit_ Ivor! He just _had_ to ditch everyone in the swamp. He cursed under his breath.

"..ving truble?" Lukas asked. He'd heard his curse.

"This guy has no sense of organization at all." Jesse huffed, fingertips lightly brushing against book spines as he read the titles. "I mean, 'How to Redstone' and 'The Nether Dictionary' simply don't go together."

"Yeah." Lukas agreed.

"Have you had any luck?" Jesse asked.

"No. I was act..ally finking about othe. .tuff." he answered, staring straight ahead. "Y.u know. Petra, Gabriel, The .celots, peopl. getting sick… you, too. Becumming deaf can't be easy."

"Yeah." Jesse said, drawing out the "y" a little. "It isn't exactly rainbows and sunshine. I haven't really been thinking too hard about it lately. We've been kind of busy."

"You're rite." Lukas agreed. "We have bin busy ."

"How are you holding up?" Jesse asked him.

"Me? I'm fine, but I .an't say the same for evrywun else." Lukas said. "I'm kinda scar.d .or everyone. The world."

Jesse frowned. "Don't worry so much, Lukas. There's really nothing we can do for them except destroy the Command Block."

"I know, I know, we .ust .ave to focus on what's in fron. of us." He turned around, taking in all the books that surrounded them. Then he said something about a million books.

"Well, I'm going to keep looking." Jesse announced. Lukas nodded. Jesse walked deeper into the library, scanning the shelves for anything that looked like a super enchanting book that had power even greater than the Command Block. Nothing caught his eyes. Just old, heavy tomes on potions and farming and other mundane topics like that. This was going to take forever. He hoped Axel, Gabriel, Ellegaard, and Magnus could hold out for so long.

He turned a corner. Reuben was fitting in front of a lava fireplace, looking dejected and tired.

"How's it going, Reuben?" Jesse asked, kneeling in front of Reuben. "Feeling okay?"

Reuben smiled, like _yeah, I'm feeling okay! We're one step closer to saving the world!_

"At least you're not sick or frustrated or depressed." Jesse muttered. "You're going to get yourself cooked, Reuben. I've told you before: stay away from fire and lava."

Reuben seemed to nod, and he moved away from the lava. It seemed that the only one Jesse could really understand now was Reuben.

Jesse examined the lava fireplace. It seemed pretty regular, until he spotted a hole on one side of the fireplace that wasn't on the other. Typically, people liked their fireplaces symmetrical. He looked down the hole. A redstone trail led into the darkness. That was definitely something.

"Hey, Olivia, I found some redstone here!" he called out. Olivia appeared from behind a bookshelf, and Jesse stepped back so she could take a look. She looked, then said some stuff he couldn't read because her back was facing him.

"What was that?" Jesse asked. Olivia turned around.

"It's some .ort of sirkit." she repeated slowly. "We'll nead a lever to power it."

"Too bad I don't have one." Jesse sighed.

"Yeah. No lever, no fun..ioning circit." Olivia walked back to the bookshelves. She couldn't do anything else here. Now he had to look for or craft a lever.

He walked to his right, where the chests were. Petra happened to be sitting on one, and the fireplace's light only enhanced the deep bags under her eyes and sallow skin tone. Her eyes were a little purple, too. She didn't look very well.

"Hey." Petra croaked when she saw him approaching. "Any luck?"

"No. I need to find a lever." Jesse replied, frowning. "Are you alright? You don't look so good."

She laughed. "I'll be fine, when the Block is gone. Are . _ou_ okay, thou.h? You were pretty upse. back at .he cave."

"Yeah.. I was." Jesse said. "I haven't thought much about it since. We've been kind of busy."

"No kiding." Petra said. She frowned up at him, studying him. "Are .ou sure you're okay? Somthng this big duzint blo. over that fast."

"I think I'm fine." Jesse answered. "Um, anyways, I might need whatever's in the chest, so.."

"Oh, sure. No need to ask." Petra got off the chest and leaned against the wall. "Good luck with wha..ver you're doing."

"Thanks." Jesse smiled. He opened the chest.

Two wooden planks. That was it. And that was all Jesse needed. He already some cobblestone with him.

He moved to the crafting table and arranged the two planks in a column, and they fused together into four sticks. He left one stick in the middle, pocketed the other three, and placed the cobblestone under the stick. They fused together to make a lever. He'd never been so glad to see one.

"Okay.. let's see what this sucker does." he muttered, walking back to the hole. Everyone seemed to be giving up on searching the bookshelves and were now watching him. Jesse placed the lever on the wall next to the hole and switched it.

Something blocked the flow of the lava in the fireplace, and the floor slowly dropped away to make a staircase. He couldn't see where it led.

"..cret .ay." Petra said. " job, Jesse."

"Thanks."

"Why would .ou build a secre. pasagway in a howse nobudy evr visits?" Lukas wondered aloud.

"They're cool." Jesse shrugged. He started down the stairs, Soren, Reuben and Lukas following.

They were barely ten steps in when Soren paused suddenly, looking down. It was an invisible tripwire. Who puts those on stairs, anyways? Did Ivor _want_ someone to trip on it and break their necks at the bottom?

Behind them, The passageway began to reclose itself. Lukas barely made it in before it closed shut, and even then, the collar of his jacket got caught, pinning him in place.

"Lukas!" Jesse ran back up the stairs and helped Lukas rip the jacket away from the door. The collar ripped.

"Thanks." he thanked Jesse, then turned back to the door, yelling "Are you okay?"

Silence. To Jesse, anyways. Soren and Lukas looked like they heard something, although it probably wasn't very good as dismay was written all over their faces.

"What'd they say?" Jesse asked.

"The lever dusn't work anymore." Lukas said slowly. He turned to the door. "Stay .here! We'll head .own and see wha. we can find!' he shouted. They didn't have much of a choice.

Soren turned to face the long staircase. He shrugged and started down again, Jesse, Lukas, and Reuben following.

"You think the book is down there?" Jesse asked.

"It has to be, or else we're screwed." Lukas answered.

 **-o.0.o-**

 **Final word count: 4042**

 **Yeah! I'm ahead of schedule! It's around 10:30 pm right now in Canada, and that's pretty late for me. I'm just gonna post this now and go to sleep.**

 **If you haven't voted on my poll yet, you can find it on my profile page. It's sort of important. I'll leave it up until the 27th, so vote before then!**

 **Now good night. :))**


	6. Liars

**Decibels chpt.6:** **Liars**

 **Ima start this chapter now…. I'm incredibly sorry for updating so late, but I was really busy the past few weeks. Personal issues, a wedding, family stuff, and life. And now I'm going to get braces in 48 ish hours.**

 **Answer to a guest:** **Someone reviewed back in chapter 3, asking me if Jesse was a boy or a girl. You should know this already, but Jesse is a boy here.**

 **Random note:** **I keep misspelling "Order" as "Oder". They're a river in Europe now.**

 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own Minecraft: Story Mode or Minecraft. Telltale and Mojang does. Y'now, the usual stuff.**

 **-o.0.o-**

 **With Petra and Olivia, Olivia's POV.**

"Are you okay?" Lukas' voice yelled through the wall. It was muffled, but it was there, thank Notch! They weren't dead.

"Yeah!" Olivia yelled back, turning to the lever on the wall and flipping it. Nothing happened. She tried spam- flipping it, but still nothing happened. It must be some sort of backup system, preventing the lever from being used more than once. "But the lever's not working anymore!"

Silence. Olivia thought she heard Jesse's voice ask what was wrong or something like that. Poor Jesse. He probably couldn't hear Olivia (or anything, really) at all.

"Stay there!" Lukas yelled back. "We'll head down and see what we can find!"

Olivia had learned from the maze that separation was bad. What if Lukas, Jesse, Soren, and Reuben fell into a trap? Got lost? Died? Petra and herself wouldn't even know. They would be stuck here, and they'd never know their friends were dead.

But there was no other choice anyways, so Olivia relented.

"Alright! Be careful!" she yelled to them.

No reply. They'd already left.

With nothing left to do, Olivia sat down hard on the closest bookshelf, shoulders slumping. What now?

 _Wait, of course_ , the little voice in the back of her head answered. _What else is there to do?_ Nothing.

Olivia sighed through her nose, frustrated. She hated being a sitting duck. She hated it when she wasn't able to do anything. All she was good for was redstone. She wasn't good at combat; Jesse or Petra would always beat her. She wasn't good at being funny; Axel did all the joking.

She wasn't very optimistic, either. She was _so sure_ they'd lose the Endercon building competition. And then what happened? They won. She thought she would never be able to figure out the flying machine, and what happened? She figured it out. And both times, she needed help doing it. Both times, Jesse had somehow made it work.

Olivia thought back to the pep- talk she had received from him. He had called himself "just some dude with a pig". As if he were insignificant. Useless. More of a loser than Axel or herself.

Why would he say that, though? Was it just to make Olivia feel better about herself (it sort of did), or did he actually think of himself as useless? He'd never shown any signs of low self- esteem or self hatred or anything of the sort in the past. What happened to him? Where was the old Jesse?

A thought struck Olivia so suddenly, she almost laughed. How had she forgotten?

Deafness. That was what changed him. Jesse couldn't communicate with his friends the same way as before. He would always be guessing every word said, unless someone yelled directly in his ear or something. He would have to lip- read for the rest of his life, if they were even going to live much longer. And Olivia knew lip- reading was hard. Not that she would know. That sort of life changing condition would change anyone.

"Nugget for your thoughts?" Petra asked suddenly. Olivia's head jerked in her direction. She was so lost in thought she had almost forgotten Petra was there.

"Just thinking about recent events." Olivia replied. "What about you? How are you doing?"

Petra wrinkled her nose slightly. She was sitting on the floor, shoulders slumped in exhaustion. The dim light of the torches created shadows on her face, making her eyes seem hollow and her skin ashen. She looked nothing like the strong person she was.

"I'm holding on." She answered. "Funny how no one asked Jesse that. Well, I think no one asked him. I did."

"And what'd he say?" Olivia asked. Jesse had been so distant lately; she needed to know how he was doing.

"He said, and I quote: 'I think I'm fine'." Petra huffed. "It's obvious he's barely holding on. I think he doesn't want everyone else to worry too much about him."

"Well, you did the same thing." Olivia pointed out. She made eye contact with Petra. "You hid your wither sickness for as long as you could so we wouldn't worry. It didn't really work."

Petra let out a weak laugh. "No, it didn't. Did I make you guys worry more?"

"I can't say for the others, but yeah, you worried me." Olivia answered. "You might've gotten away with it if you tried to hide the croak in your voice, though."

"I think Jesse would have gotten away with hiding his deafness if he hadn't touched his face." Petra said. "He isn't that bad at lip reading, either. He seemed to be able to carry on a conversation. He seemed to understand everything I was saying."

"And when I talked to him too." Olivia added, thinking back to the maze. "He asked me to slow down once, but other than that he seemed fine."

"Have you noticed," Petra asked suddenly," that he hasn't made eye contact with anyone when he was talking?"

Now that Olivia thought about it, it was true. Jesse hadn't looked at anyone directly in the eyes since he blew up at Soren. Olivia had looked at him in the eyes back at the flying machine, but Jesse wasn't looking back at her, not directly. He was staring at her lips, his eyebrows pulled together slightly in concentration.

"Yeah, I've noticed, now that you've mentioned it. Why?" Olivia asked.

Petra frowned. "I dunno. He always makes eye contact when he talks. And now he doesn't. It feels different." Petra looked at Olivia's confused face. "I know, I know, it's stupid, but I noticed. And it feels different. And I don't lIke it."

"Huh." Olivia grunted.

There was just something about the fact that Jesse hadn't looked into anyone's eyes that unsettled Olivia.

Jesse had changed. Everyone had. The real question, though, was if they changed for the better, or for worse. No one knew yet.

 **Jesse's POV**

"Is that.. the Ender Dragon's egg?" Jesse gasped.

Jesse didn't lip read Soren's answer, but it was probably a "yes". There couldn't be any other egg that size. Just… wow. He'd never thought he'd see something so incredibly _rare_ , so.. awesome.

Then Jesse noticed all the other things in the room. A white teardrop, which he knew was a Ghast Tear, hovered on a white pedestal. A delicate blue shard of something hovered on another pedestal. Next to that was a strange blue- white block that gave off a soft white light. And a block of ice, though it was cloudier than regular ice. This was like some sort of show room, or treasure room of the Order. Cool beans.

Soren stepped forward and spun around slowly, taking in the objects on their pedestals. He said something about "keeping them". Jesse assumed "them" were the treasures.

Jesse turned to Lukas just in time to see him ask "The Order's ..easures, I'm guessing?" He was staring at the glowing block.

Soren replied something, but his back was turned. Dammit.

Soren walked down the centre of the showroom, and stopped at the Ender Dragon's egg. It might have been his imagination, but Soren's shoulders seem to slump a little. Why would he do that?

After an awkward silence (Gee, that phrase no longer worked for him), Jesse finally asked "So where's the enchanting book?"

"Maybe throo there?" Lukas asked, pointing at an iron door off to the side. It blended in fairly well with the wall, which was why no one noticed it earlier. It was the only other door in the room, besides the one they came from.

Soren walked up to the door and peeked through the holes. Then he knocked on it. He turned back to Jesse and Lukas.

"Locked. Of course." he said.

"There has .o be some way t. open it, riht?' Lukas asked.

Jesse shrugged. "Let's find out, then." Lukas shrugged, then began looking around.

Yay. More time- wasting puzzles. So many time- wasting things. For the fourth or fifth time: Dammit, Ivor! They would probably already be on their way back to Soren's Fortress if Ivor hadn't run at the swamp. The world _depended_ on them, and he had the atrocious idea of running away! People could be dying. People could already be dead. And Ivor had left them.

He had thought about Ivor enough. He had to go help Lukas and Soren with the puzzle.

Besides the Order's treasures, there were a few paintings on the walls, red carpet lining the floor, and some rather tasteful stone pillars, not that Jesse was an expert on what made a good stone pillar. It seemed like a regular showcase hall.

Until his eyes went back to the pedestals, which now that he was looking closer, had pressure plates on them. Pressure plates mean redstone. And the treasures sitting on them held them down. They could be used to unlock the door! Or they could just be there to make the pedestal look nicer.

Jesse reached out and took the ghast tear off it's pressure plate. The pressure plate popped up. He couldn't hear any redstone noises. Of course he couldn't- he kept expecting noise when it would never come. He had to stop that.

"Hey, Lukas, did you hear anything redstone-y?" Jesse asked.

"Yeah, why- oh." Lukas stared at the now empty pedestal, and the pressure plate on top. "That was fast. You're good at this .hole puzzle .hing"

"Thanks." He'd never been told that he was smart. Now that he was deaf, he actually kind of felt a little dumb. Everyone would kill him (Petra more than once) if they knew he thought that.

He went around the room, carefully taking each treasure from their pressure plates. Lastly, he approached the Ender Dragon egg. And Jesse wasn't ashamed to admit that he was fan- boying a little inside. He'd never thought he would meet a member of the Order, much less _all_ of them. And now he was staring at _the_ Ender Dragon egg, the closest he would ever get to seeing the Ender Dragon itself. The past few days had been unbelievable, in both the good and bad way.

He took the egg off the pressure plate. The wall behind it gave a shudder, then dropped away to reveal five hoppers placed in a row, labeled one to five. There were exactly five treasures. And if Jesse knew anything about puzzles, then he knew he'd probably have to put the treasures in a certain order. Otherwise, why would there be a point in labeling the hoppers?

 _To throw off the solver,_ a voice in the back of his head suggested. Right.

".hy is Ivor hiding .oppers in .is basement?" Soren wondered aloud.

"It's .ome sort of puzzle." Lukas explained to Soren. "It has to do with .he treasures."

"Right, the treasures." Jesse said. He laid them all on the floor in front of the hoppers, then turned to Soren. "Soren, in what order did the Order get these treasures?"

When Soren gave Jesse a funny looked, Jesse frowned. "What? They obviously go in some order. I'd thought I'd start with what order you got them. If not that, then the most common to most rare, and then maybe favourite to least favourite, and so on"

Soren nodded in understanding. "First came the ghast tears. It was our firs. missio-"

"Soren, I just need the order that you got them. You know I can't hear your stories. Also, we're kind of pressed for time here." Jesse deadpanned.

Soren looked a little put out by the fact that he couldn't tell his great stories. "Ghast tear, .arine shard, sea .antern, packed ice, and Ender .ragon egg."

While Soren was speaking, Lukas had picked up the items in order and threw them into their respective hoppers. They disappeared. The three of them waited for something to happen.

"There!" Lukas exclaimed, pointing over Jesse's shoulders, at the iron doors. They were open. "It worked! It act..lly worked!" He turned to Jesse. "Wow, you were right, Jesse!"

He thought it was more "trial and error" than him actually figuring it out, but he shrugged and said thanks anyways. They passed through the iron door.

The next room was smaller than the showcase hall. The lights were a lot dimmer, and bathed the room in a soft purple light. Four obsidian pillars stood in the middle of the room, each with a lit redstone lamp on top. The four pillars each had a banner on them, each with some sort of symbol that represented a member of the Order, minus Ivor.

Someone tapped his shoulder; it was Lukas. He pointed up and to the right. Jesse looked.

The top half of the right wall seemed to have been blown apart, revealing some sort of replica of the End, only there was a model of the Ender Dragon floating in it. Ivor had built a replica of the battle with the Ender Dragon, it seemed. Why, though? Why did he care so much about the Order when he had left them?

"It looks like Ivor's created a replica of ar battle with .he dragon." Soren observed.

"There are buttons on .hese pillars." Lukas walked over to the one with the bow on it and pressed it. The light turned off, but no doors opened. "It's anuther puzzle."

Jesse didn't even bother to hide his sigh. "Let's get to it, then."

Just one more time: Dammit, Ivor!

If the last room's puzzle was anything to go by, then this room's puzzle had some sort of order to the buttons too. Jesse walked around, observing each pillar's banner. Maybe the symbols would help.

The pillar that had the button that Lukas had pressed wore a yellow banner with a bow on it. Another was blue, and had a diamond sword on it. The third one was red, and had a redstone symbol on it. The fourth was green and had a TNT symbol on it. That actually didn't help at all. He didn't know what the banners meant.

Lukas was talking to Soren, and Soren seemed to be telling a story, probably of how the Order defeated the Dragon. Jesse didn't really feel like lip- reading a long story, though, so he went over to Reuben. He hadn't talked to Reuben in a while. Not since the flying machine, which seemed like a really long time ago. Probably was, since Ivor's stupid puzzles were time- wasting.

"What's up, Reubs?" Jesse asked, kneeling down to his level.

Reuben seemed to do the pig version of a "Nothin' much" face.

"Glad you're okay, boy." Jesse pat him on the head. "We're getting closer to the book. I think. We're getting closer to defeating the Storms, at least."

Reuben smiled his pig smile. Jesse smiled too. At least Reuben was okay. That was more than Petra or Gabriel could say (Hey, that rhymed).

Someone tapped his shoulder, so he got up and turned around to see who it was. It was Lukas again.

"Hey." Lukas started. "I got .he doors open, but ..ere's another set behind them, and, um, yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck, like he wasn't sure if Jesse wanted to help. Or.. if he could help at all.

"You need help figuring out how to open the door?" Jesse asked. Lukas nodded.

"No problemo." he shrugged.

"Why do .ou say the wurd 'problem' with an 'o' at .he end?" Lukas asked randomly. Jesse raised his eyebrows at the strange question, but answered anyways.

"Old habit. Also, because it sounds cool." And now that he thought about, it didn't sound cool anymore. You know why.

"Oh."

Jesse looked around the newly dubbed "Replica Room". All the lights on the pillars were now off. Soren was still thinking his thoughts in the corner. Nothing in the room seemed to have moved or changed otherwise, besides the iron doors. There were two layers of doors. Why did Ivor even place two layers of doors? Heck, why'd he even bother with puzzles in the first place? He thought Ivor had built his lab in the Far Lands because it was isolated here.

He looked closer at the replica of the Ender Dragon (it wasn't a very good replica, actually. Surely the dragon had bigger wings and legs?). He caught sight of a lever just behind the dragon's ear. If you weren't specifically looking for a lever, you would miss it.

"Over there." Jesse pointed to the lever.

'I thought .hat was part of .he dragon." Lukas admitted, his face a little sheepish. Then he frowned. "But how .o we get up there?"

Jesse's eyes followed the Ender Dragon's body, to it's unusually long tail, which sat flush against the wall, creating a ledge that someone could possibly walk on. Hmm…

He walked forward a few steps and stood under the lowest point of the tail. He looked up. It wasn't too _too_ far up. He could make it with a little help.

"Hey, gimme a boost." Jesse called out to Lukas.

"Um.. okay." Lukas said. He wrapped his arms around Jesse's waist and hoisted him up. Lukas didn't lift him up very much, but it was enough for him to grab the edge of the glowstone jutting out.

"You can let go now." Jesse said to Lukas. He felt Lukas let go of him, and he used his now free legs to dig against the wall and pull himself on to the glowstone. From there, it was fairly easy to walk along the tail, on to the dragon's back, and to the lever. He flipped it. Across the room, Soren jumped (he seemed to be lost in thought a lot lately) as the iron doors swung open.

Jesse jumped off the dragon and joined Soren, Lukas, and Reuben on the ground.

"-agulations! You did it!" Soren was exclaiming.

"And there's the book!" Jesse almost shouted, striding through the door. The others followed.

There before them was the book (Finally!). It sat open on a quartz pedestal, it's cover designed like the side of a command block and the words in the same colors as command block's console. Purple galactic letters floated around the book. Yeap. This was it. They'd found it.

Jesse looked around the room. Three of the four walls were plain. In the wall behind the book sat four purple… somethings. They floated, giving off a purple light. Each one had a red rune on it. Were these the Ender Crystals? They looked cool.

He turned to Lukas, and was about to ask him what to do next, but the words died on his lips as he saw Lukas' face. His eyes were narrowed in suspicion, his eyebrows were pulled together in anger, and his lips were pursed. Then he turned to Soren and spoke.

"Soren, I thought .ou said the .nder Crystals wer. Destroyed when .ou killed the .nder Dragon!" he said.

Jesse had heard about the Ender Crystals and the Ender Dragon in some books and stories floating around town. They said that the crystals could heal the dragon. So if the Order had killed the Ender Dragon, then the crystals had to be destroyed… but they were still here.

They were still here. They were definitely not destroyed. And if they weren't destroyed, then the Ender Dragon couldn't have been killed. But when they had gone to the End earlier, there was obviously no dragon. Which meant the dragon was gone! But the crystals were here!

"Soren, what is this?" Jesse asked, turning to Soren. He had gone pale, and was shaking his head slightly as he stared at the crystals.

He completely ignored what Jesse had said and stepped closer to the crystals, still shaking his head. His lips were moving rapidly as he nervously rambled on about stuff. Something was very, very wrong about this whole thing.

"Soren, did you really defeat .he .nder Dragon?" Lukas asked Soren. _Did you really defeat the Ender Dragon?_ That was a good question, A really good question.

Soren's movements were jumpy, as if he were expecting a fight any second. "Jesse, Lukas, I- I swear, our story, .he story, i- it's .rue, mostly, I- I swear it."

"Mostly true. Mostly. Soren, tell us the truth. All of it. Tell us exactly what happened in the fight with the Ender Dragon." Jesse demanded. Soren gulped. He was afraid.

"I- I can't (mumbling). We swore never to .peak of it!" he stammered. So the whole Order was in on this too!

"I don't care!" both Lukas and Jesse shouted.

"Tell us the truth. _Now_." Lukas demanded, crossing his arms. Soren sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat. There was no way out. He relented.

"I- I'm afraid I .aven't been .onest with you two lately." he started. "We _did_ .efeat the .nder Dragon. But it wasn't.. like I said."

"How 'not exactly'?" Jesse asked. This didn't make sense. They either defeated it, or they didn't. There was no "not exactly".

Soren sighed and turned around, leaning on the wall next to the crystals. He said something, but his back was turned.

"What'd you say?" Jesse asked. Soren's shoulders, if it was even possible, slumped further. He'd forgotten that Jesse was deaf. Again.

He turned around. "We got rid of it, but we didn't kill it." he said, slower than normally.

"What does .hat mean?" Lukas asked, eyebrows furrowed. "How do .ou get rid of an entire dragon?"

That seemed to have triggered Soren, for suddenly, he took on an angry expression. "We didn't do it! We used .hat damned Command Block!"

Jesse and Lukas stood, gaping at Soren. What. The. Heck.

The Order of the Stone were liars. All his life, Jesse had admired them for their bravery, their skills, their wit, and their courage that they used to defeat the Ender Dragon. He had spent _so many_ years thinking "How awesome would it be if I could be like them?". And now he finds out that it's all a lie.

This was big. This was really, _really_ big. The Order had lied to the _whole world_! Was this why no one ever heard of Ivor's part in the Order? Because he'd left? Back at Endercon, Ivor had said something about showing everyone who the Order really were. The Wither Storm was a revenge plan, then. Born of bitter rivalries and lies. Nothing good ever came out of lies. They always, _always_ come crashing down on the liar sooner or later.

"-o defeat the Ender Dragon?!" Lukas was shouting. Jesse could almost hear the accusation in his voice.

All Soren could do was sigh, turning to face the two of them. "I'm afraid so."

Soren was a liar. Gabriel was a liar. Magnus was a liar. Ellegaard was a liar. All of them were liars. He'd been confiding with big, fat liars. Liar. That word rolled off the tongue so easily, just like lies.

"Understand." Soren said. "When we found .hat blasted block, we .ere nobodies. But with it, we wur stronger. Faster. We could .o so .uch more!"

Lukas and Jesse continued to glare on. That was not enough of an excuse to lie to the world.

Soren continued to speak. "The had no idea wha. I was doing… yet .he more I used it, the .ore we came to depend on it." He paused for a bit, taking a breath. "I kne. it was on.y so long before someone .ould find out."

"Lying never works." Jesse muttered under his breath. Soren and Lukas didn't seem to have heard.

"So I a plan. I woul. use the Command Block to blink the .nder Dragon out of .. Securing our statu. as legends. Forever. We told the world we defeeted the dragon."

Soren seemed to be done talking, so Jesse spoke up. "Soren, you lied to the _world._ You cheated. Cheated."

Soren looked absolutely miserable, but Jesse couldn't really bring himself to care. "Believe me." Soren sighed. "I know."

There were about two seconds of just them standing there, the big reveal sinking in, when suddenly, Lukas turned around, eyes widening, as if he heard something. Jesse turned around too. It was Olivia Petra, and _Ivor_ (When had he shown up? He was kind of late). All of them were scowling, Ivor more severely than the girls.

"Soren…" Olivia spoke first. "How could you?"

Soren might have said something, but Lukas spoke up next. "How long have .ou guys been standing .here?" he asked.

"Long .nough that .hey heard the whole thing." Ivor spat, walking forward a few steps. He glared hard at Soren.

"So the Order ar. all liars." Petra said.

"I guess they are." Olivia sighed, clearly disappointed. Jesse knew why. She had looked up to Ellegaard for so long, only to realize it was a lie.

"You didn't .hink you could keep .t secret forever, did .ou, Soren?" Ivor sneered, stalking forward to stand in front of him. "The truth .urts, doesn'. it?" He put his hands on his hips, and scowled even harder, if that was possible with how much he already was scowling. He was going to have some serious wrinkles.

"Ivor." Lukas said, catching the man's attention. "You knew about all .his too, didn't .ou?"

"Of course I did!" Ivor exclaimed. "I was in th. Order from the very !"

Everyone watched as Ivor began to rant, while Soren paced up and down the length of the room. "Soren, Gabriel, Magnus, Ellegaard… they all agreed to keep .his a secret!" Ivor snapped.

"So did you!" Soren shot back, pointing an accusing finger at Soren. "You agreed t. keep quiet .oo! In exchaynge for all our treasures!"

Olivia gasped in horror. Petra glared.

Ivor's eyes widened a little, mildly surprised. He wasn't denying it. So he was a liar too.

"So, this .hole thing, this Storm you unleashed has- all been t. teach the Order a lesson?" Lukas asked.

Jesse couldn't help but blurt out "That is very cliche." Lukas gave him an odd look.

Ivor completely ignored him and turned to Lukas. "T. teach the world a lesson! To show .ou who t.e Order really are." he said.

"At the expense of the world itself?" Jesse asked Ivor. "You can't exactly teach a lesson if all the students are dead, can you? Maybe you could have planned your lesson a little better, teacher. Like more potions in case your science project went wrong. Or a more secure classroom."

"Look." Ivor hissed, taking a step closer to Jesse. "My 'lesson' _backfired._ "

"Ya think?" Petra asked, throwing a hand up in frustration.

"I didn't know weed (what?) end up with .hree of those tearing the world apart!" he protested angrily, turning away and crossing his arms, huffing. He was beyond frustrated.

"Which we need to destroy, pronto." Jesse said loudly. They had spent a bit too much time arguing here, Order of the Liars be damned. The world was dying. "We need to make the super- weapon, like, now!"

"Jesse's right." Soren said. " the Comm-and Block is all dat matters ."

Ivor sighed, his body no longer coiled up in anger. He walked around the pedestal the book sat on, saying something, but his back was turned to Jesse so he couldn't read it. Ivor picked up the book, and closed it.

"Okay, now what?" Lukas asked. "We got .he book."

"One of you craft a weapon, then we put it on an .nvil." ivor explained. "Follow me, I'll show you."

Ivor passed the book over to the closest person, which was Jesse (he probably didn't mean too). He stared at the Command Block patterned cover. _He_ was going to do it?

Jesse looked back at everyone else. None of them seemed to want to do it. No one seemed to object to Jesse doing it, either. Alright. He was going to craft the super weapon, then.

"Ivor." Soren said, stepping forward. He looked a little ashamed. "I'm sorry. About evrythng"

For a second, the two men just stared at each other, neither of them getting angry or anything drastic like that. Finally, Ivor shrugged. "Well… it does.'t matter now."

It didn't. The cat was out of the bag now. The Order's secrets were exposed, and no amount of sorrys were going to change that, or the fact that the world was ending outside.

Ivor turned away and walked through a set of iron doors that were off to the side. Jesse took one last look at his friends before following. The door closed behind him.

 **-o.0.o-**

 **Final word count: 4792**

 **Once again, I'm really sorry for the incredibly late update. I was really busy. But now I'm back! Though school will be starting up again soon, so updates will definitely slow down. I might even go months without an update. But school comes first.**

 **I have this weird headcannon where I visualize Jesse as a shorter than average person. I don't even know why, as I myself am not a short person at all… I think it was how I noticed that Magnus keeps calling Jesse "Short stuff", "Small fry" and something else. Whatever, I'm weird :))**

 **What did you think about the POV switch? Let me know in the reviews! Also, if you have any questions, ask them, and I will probably answer them. If they're not stupid.**

 **Okay bye! Good luck to those who have already started school! :))**

 **EDIT SEPT.22, 2016: I have gone through the previous chapters and edited minor things, nothing too important to the plot. And for those who are following the story, I'm sorry for not updating lately, but school has been keeping me pretty busy. Don't worry, the next chapter is pretty long!**


	7. His Reuben

**Decibels chpt.7:** **His Reuben**

 **And hello. I'm going to keep this AN short because I want to get on to this chapter.**

 **Guest replies:**

 **Jetra4Eva : ****I'm glad you like my writing! As of now, I don't have any plans for any pairings, but I could easily make one. Maybe I'll put a poll up or something.**

 **Anion:** **Aw thanks :)**

 **ExtraCrispyKitty:** **I admire patient people that wait for updates. I'm not very good at it...**

 **WARNING:** **The feels. And some bad words.**

 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own MC:SM or Minecraft. Telltale and Mojang does.**

 **-o.0.o-**

Jesse followed Ivor into another room, smaller than the first two. There were small pools of lava on the floor. In front of him was a single chest, a crafting table, and an anvil, all in a perfect line. Behind that, though, was what caught Jesse's interest.

Armour sets, unlike any armour he'd seen before, stood proudly on armour stands. They weren't the regular type of armour. These were colorful, and shone like they were brand new. As much as Jesse disliked Ivor for doing some incredibly stupid things, he had some pretty cool stuff.

He turned to Ivor just in time to catch what he was saying. "Grab some stuf. and craft a weapon.I'll show .ou how .o enchant it."

When Ivor made no moves to give more instructions, Jesse approached the chest and opened it. There were a bunch of mundane things, like cobblestone and string and wood, but as soon as he saw the diamonds, he took them. They needed the most durable weapon they could get for this.

After this, he moved on to the crafting table. He had exactly three diamonds and three sticks, more than enough to make any tool. He briefly considered crafting something stupid, like a shovel, just for laughs, but decided against it. What if it didn't work?

Jesse crafted a diamond sword. As soon as he placed the last diamond on top, the ingredients pulled together and in a puff of smoke, turned into a sword. It looked awesome. The blade was sharp and keen. And shiny. Jesse liked shiny things. They were cool.

He lifted the sword in his right hand, testing it. It was perfectly balanced, and was lighter than he thought it would be. Why didn't he always own a diamond sword? Oh yeah, because diamonds were hard to get. But still. He should've tried harder to get one.

As soon as Ivor saw the completed sword, he grinned, almost fanboy- like. "Now put it on t.e anvil. Jus. place the in the first .ox, and the book in t.e second."

Jesse did just that. The sword and the book came together in the middle, shuddered for a second, then fused together into a _glowing_ diamond sword, the guard turned into the same colors as the Command Block console. If he could hear, he'd probably hear it hum with power. The blue surface of the sword gleamed.

 _Well, it does have the power to destroy the Command Block_ , Jesse thought.

Ivor walked up to him, obviously pleased with the sword's look and power. "Good. But if you.'e going to fiht .hose Storms head on, y.u'll want armuur, too." He gestured towards the super- cool array of armour sets. "I made these for .he Order. They're abou. as .trong as they come. Even able to wifstand TNT!"

"So I get to pick one?" Jesse asked.

"Go ahe.d. Take your pick." Ivor said.

"But what about the others? They'll get some too, right?" he asked.

"Of corse they will!"

Jesse looked at all the armour sets. They all looked pretty neat. Some of them even had some sort of shoulder spikes on them, which was also really cool. He noticed the fact that none of them seem to have helmets. That was a little strange. Super cool armour sets of the Order, and they all happen to not have helmets.

"I'll take that one." he finally decided, pointing to the second set on the left*. It had varying shades of blue, which went together well with the black edging on the chestplate and boots. Besides, he liked blue.

"An exelent choice." Ivor said. "Now go ahe.d and pu. it on!"

Jesse put it on. It felt amazing. Lightweight _and_ strong? Perfect. And the best part was that it was _his._

"How do I look?" he asked, turning to face Ivor. He felt pretty good.

"Redy for action." Ivor replied. Jesse grinned.

They walked back to the Crystal Room, where his friends were scattered around, waiting. As soon as the doors opened, their heads whipped around to look. Petra grinned.

"Cool armo.r, Jesse" she smiled.

"Thanks." Jesse said. "There's some left in the room for you guys too."

"Great. Let's grab some, and .hen go to Soren's and see how t.e Storms are doing aga.s. those endermen." Lukas said. Everyone nodded. They were ready.

And yet, at the same time, they weren't.

 **(Time skip)**

They all got their armour sets and weapons, and began making their way back to Soren's Fortress. By sheer luck, they'd found their horses wandering around the mouth of the maze. The way back was almost twice as fast as the way there, luckily. This time, they had everything set. They finally had a way to end the chaos. Finally, victory was within their reach.

After so much time underground, Jesse had almost asked (stupidly) why the sky was purple, but he bit his tongue just in time. Now was not the time to be stupid. The wind was whipping at everyone's hair. The air bit at their fingers and ears. The mood was dark and heavy, weighing everyone down.

The Witherstorms were at the fortress, as planned, tearing the place to pieces. A crater was pretty much all that remained. The Endermen stood at the bottom of said crater, and those who got caught in the tractor beams got angry, and began pulling off Witherstorm blocks. But the ones that didn't were doing nothing. There weren't enough angry endermen.

"I thought .he endrmen were supposed to have the Storms .ismantled already." Olivia said, dismounting her horse. She was wearing a set of red/ gold/ brown armour, similar to Ellegaard's.

Everyone else got off their horses to stand with Olivia. "It's not just you." Ivor said. "Som..hing's wrong."

Then everybody's heads whipped to the side, as if someone had called their names. Using common sense, Jesse turned around too.

It was Axel! Thank Notch they were alright! Axel had a wide grin on his face, and he looked pretty unharmed. And he was alive, which was what Jesse was hoping for. Gabriel wasn't there. Maybe he was resting?

"You're alright!" Jesse managed to exclaim. No words could describe how freaking glad he was that no one was dead yet.

"You guys made it!" Axel smiled, walking over to the group. "Nice armo.r, by .he way."

"Thanks."

"Hey," Lukas frowned, " 'd Magnus, Gabriel, and Ellegaard go?"

"O. man. You won't beleave it." Axel started. "So it al. went .own like you said, Jesse: ride .or Soren's (something). Then we reelized: The endrmn! The.'re not angry !"

"The Endermen aren't angry enough." Jesse said out loud, to confirm the mess that Axel had just said. Axel's face fell. He'd forgotten.

"Aw, sorry man." Axel apologized slowly. "But you got it right."

"Thanks. But really, what happened to Gabriel, Magnus and Ellegaard?" Jesse asked. Axel's face fell a little further.

"The enermen wer.n't angry , so one of .he Storms star-ed chasing us." Axel explained. He had started talking faster again, but Jesse couldn't blame him. Everyone was used to talking faster. "So they ran off to fyht .hat .hing!"

"Witho.t the Block, they don't stand a chan.e." Soren sighed, staring out at the Witherstorms. Purple lights were flying everywhere. Gabriel, Magnus, and Ellegaard could be sucked up any one of those. Actually, they were kind of lucky that the Storms hadn't noticed the group standing there yet. They were pretty easy targets.

'Wait, now?" Axel blurted out, confused. "Why do .hey need the Block?"

'You don'. wan.a know." Olivia scowled. Axel looked like he wanted to keep pushing, but decided against it. Pushing Olivia was never a good thing to do. Go ask Aiden, he'll tell you.

"Oh!" Jesse exclaimed. "I almost forgot!" He pulled out a clear helmet- thing, sort of like Magnus', but bigger. He handed it to Axel. "It was the only thing that would fit you, no offense."

Axel shrugged, grinning, and put it own. It fit perfectly on him. "Nice! I was felling left out!"

For a moment, everyone just stood there, staring at each other while the Storms wreaked havoc behind them. Everyone was ready to do whatever they could to save the world. Yet at the same time, no one ready to fight, and maybe die. Dying was bad.

"Guys." Petra spoke up. "I think… I'l. si. out on this one." (When did she sit down?)

She looked sicker than anyone Jesse had ever seen before. She kept hugging herself, like she was constantly cold. She looked as if he breathed on her, she would be blown away, and that was saying a lot, seeing as Petra was.. well, Petra. The person who made deals with shady people and went to the Nether voluntarily. She wasn't supposed to be weak. Heck, she almost broke Jesse's arm in a friendly spar once. Right now, it looked like Jesse could break _her_ arm easily.

"You could've stayed in the cave, Petra." Jesse frowned. "You shouldn't have over- exerted yourself."

Petra shook her head, muttering something so fast he couldn't read it. (Though it _looked_ like "You shouldn't either") "Destroy .he Block… for me?"

"Definitely." Jesse declared solemnly.

"Erm, yea., spe-king of the Block," Axel cut in, "How are .e going to kill it?"

Oh, right. No one had told Axel that they'd made the super weapon.

"With this!" Jesse pulled out the gleaming magic sword and held it out for Axel to see. It seemed to glow even brighter against the gloomy sky. Sort of like a beacon of hope against the darkness.

"Wow." Axel breathed, awe on his face. "That is, like, .he coolest .hing I .ave ever, ever seen."

"Yup." Lukas said. "We shood get going." He gestured to the three Witherstorms, which were still waving their tentacles around wildly, whacking bits of mountain to pieces. Jesse probably said it before -he couldn't remember- but he was going to say it again: It was chaos. Too much stuff was happening at once.

Before they head off, Jesse turned to Petra, who was still sitting on the ground, pale and tired. "Stay safe, alright?" he asked her. "We'll come back for you when it's over."

She nodded. "You too."

The group jumped from ledge to ledge, down the massive crater of Soren's fortress, to stand almost directly under the biggest, main Storm, which most likely housed the Command Block. Someone was going to have to go up there and destroy the stupid block. If it wasn't in there, it was over.

"Okay." Lukas huffed, his eyes on the Storm. "What now?"

"We need .o get more focused on .he Storm!" Olivia shouted. It sort of looked like she was shouting. The Witherstorm was probably roaring loudly, making it near impossible to hear each other. Maybe it was a good thing, then, that he couldn't hear it. Lip reading didn't require hearing, so he could communicate, regardless of the noise levels.

Axel said something about focusing or whatever, but Jesse wasn't really paying attention. His eyes were following Soren, who had begun shivering, almost violently, his knees bent slightly, ready to bolt away. His lips were also moving feverishly fast, muttering nonsense nervously.

And then, he began to back away. Why was he backing away?

"Soren… what are you doing?" he asked, frowning. Was Soren doing what Jesse thought he was doing?

"No (muttering).. t's be.n real.y nice, meating you all.." he chuckled nervously, confirming Jesse's suspicions. "But…"

He turned around and ran away, his arms flailing around in panic. Everyone watched his retreating back in disbelief. Order of the Stone or not, no one had expected him to leave so early into the battle. He was supposed to stay and help!

"Dammit, Soren." Jesse said aloud. He didn't mind the weird looks he got for that.

Ivor growled, shaking his head in frustration. "SOREN!" he shouted, running after the coward. Everyone watched him leave. No one tried to stop them.

Jesse looked around. Now it was just himself, Lukas, Olivia, Axel, and Reuben left to fight the Storm and destroy the Command Block. Four humans and one pig. And no offense to his pig friend, but Reuben couldn't do much, besides maybe head- butting endermen. Or their legs. How were they going to do this? None of them had a lot of experience in a fight of this scale. The Storm was all the way up there, and they were down here. Jesse was the only one with a diamond weapon, and he wasn't even sure he could use it for anything other than the Command Block. Axel only had some fishbowl thing for armour. The Order was no help.

Dammit, dammit, dammit!

".o much for the Ord.r of the Stone." Olivia said, clearly disappointed. Her arms were crossed.

"Nev.r mind them, we have .ork to do!" Lukas yelled, turning back to the endermen and the Storm. "We to get .he endermen focus.d on the Storm!"

"And how do we do that?" Jesse asked him.

"WHAT?" Lukas yelled, or at least it looked like he yelled. Jesse's face fell. Right. They could hear the roars of the Storm, he couldn't. He needed to yell for them to hear him. Another thing he had to remember for the rest of his life.

He repeated what he said before, yelling at the top of his lungs this time. How the heck was he supposed to know how loud the Storms were? "HOW DO WE DISTRACT THE ENDERMEN?!"

Lukas flinched away from him, frowning, but nodded to show that he (quite obviously) heard the question. When Lukas wasn't looking, Jesse winced. He was probably way too loud. Or too quiet. He didn't know, and at this point, he started wondering if he should stop caring.

"T.e tractor beams!" Olivia blurted out excitedly, pointing to the purple beams. As they watched, the purple light washed over a couple of meandering endermen. As if a potion of sudden anger had hit them, the endermen began shaking uncontrollably, and then they teleported up the beam and joined the rest of the endermen that were tearing the Storms apart.

"Get .hem to chase us into t.e beams!" Olivia shouted. She charged into the fray, and the others followed, but then they split up at some point. Jesse was left on his own. Even Reuben wasn't at his feet.

He stopped running, looked behind him, and saw a tractor beam approaching fast. He waited until it came dangerously close, before shooting off as fast as he could, the purple beam hot on his heels. He wasn't really looking where he was going; he just shoved his way through endermen after endermen, and letting his imagination insert the sounds of angry hissing for him. Jesse just ran and ran and ran and ran, running circles and squares and other shapes around the endermen. When he looked behind him, he could see all the angry endermen he'd left, shaking with anger at him before getting distracted by the tractor beams. Good. It was working.

Eventually, his chest began to burn as his lungs worked hard to suck in air. He was slowing down. Had he always been this unfit, or was it just lack of proper food and sleep?

Anyways… that wasn't important at the moment.

He ran up the half- ruined steps of Soren's fortress, where Axel, Olivia, Lukas, and Reuben were panting. But they looked pretty satisfied as they stared out at all the angry endermen that were tearing the Storm apart. The head of the Storm reared up, opening it's mouth, revealing two pearly white rows of dull looking, but powerful teeth. Jesse shuddered. If any of them got caught in that thing…

".sse, look!" Olivia was shouting, a grin on her face. "It's werkng!" She pointed at the Storm. It was pretty much covered in angry endermen, flicking its tentacles in anger as it tried to get the endermen off. But the tentacles weren't long enough, and the Storm was too fat.

"Over !" Axel shouted, pointing to a spot on the Storm's surface. "That hol.'s big to get inside of!"

"Now .e just ne.d to find .ou a way up!" Olivia exclaimed. "Or buil-"

She was interrupted by Lukas, who was frowning. "Wait, Jesse's t.e one going?"

Axel and Olivia looked like they had been slapped across the faces with realization. They were just about to let their best friend -and _recently deafened_ best friend- do what was probably a suicide mission. And once again, they all stared at him.

"Well, do you want to do it?" Axel asked slowly. Olivia slapped him across the back of his neck, the tallest point she could reach on Axel.

"You berk!" she scowled up at their taller friend. "Why wood he want to? He culd die!"

"Actually," Jesse cut in, so suddenly that Olivia's pigtails bounced as her head whipped towards him, "I want to do it."

"Are .ou sure?" Lukas asked, frowning. "Y.u've done it once alredy."

"What he sa.d." Axel added. "Yo.'ve don. it once for us. We can't let .ou do it aga.n."

"And… why is that?" Jesse asked, as soon as he got the words deciphered in his head.

"Tha. is why!" Olivia shouted.

"What?" he asked, genuinely confused.

"You pawsed just now." Olivia said. "You .ave to lip- read evrythng we say. You're deaf."

Jesse crossed his arms, frowning. "And thank you for reminding me. Your point is?"

"Her point is," Lukas cut in, "the last .ime .ou did .hing like this, you got .urt pret.y bad. I'd say we'.e pretty go.d frenz now, and frenz don't let frenz get hurt."

Jesse took a moment to decipher that, and then he spoke. "I'd say the same for you. Are you volunteering in my place, then? So you could get hurt instead?"

Lukas' face said it all. Yes, he was completely willing to go in Jesse's place. Jesse understood that feeling, wanting to go in your friend's place to protect them. He wasn't angry about that. He had the exact same feeling, the same feeling Lukas was feeling, and the same way he was feeling mere minutes before his life changed. He felt it coursing through his veins, pounding in his chest, flowing through his very being, and it feeling was so strong he knew he _had_ to do it.

For his friends.

"The feeling's mutual, then." Jesse shrugged, drawing his (Was it his?) sword. His right hand tingled as he gripped the hilt with determination. He could do this. He _would_ do this.

"C'mon Jesse, don't be .hat way." Axel frowned, a pleading look in his eyes. Axel. Big, strong, funny Axel. Always trying to protect his smaller friend from harm.

"Please." Olivia pleaded (Or begged, Jesse couldn't tell). "Y.u've done so much for us." And Olivia. Smart, hardworking Olivia, who knew how to do everything.

Lukas didn't say anything, but his right hand twitched as if he wanted to slap the sword right out of Jesse's hand. Lukas. He didn't know Lukas very well, but he knew Lukas was a good person. And wanting to slap the sword was a very valid feeling.

Reuben was giving him the "pig eyes". His eyes were wide and shiny and full of cuteness and the epitome of "Pleaasse". In the past, that face was what Reuben used to make Jesse or someone else play with him. It always worked. Nobody could resist Reuben's eyes.

Not this time, though.

"I'm going." Jesse finally said. "I'm going." he repeated.

"Why?" Olivia asked.

Good question. Why was Jesse so adamant about this anyways? His friends were more than willing to take his place and destroy the Command Block for him. He could hand over the sword now and secure his own survival and live. Life was good. He wanted to keep his life.

But what was life without friends?

"Because if I don't, one of you will have to do it. I can't let that happen." he answered firmly. "Besides, you said it before: I already did it once. And I'm going to do it again. I _want_ to do it again and be able to say that I succeeded."

His friends blinked at him, staring at him. Jesse let it go this time. He was never much of a poetic person.

"Alright." Axel finally said. "We ne.d to find .ou a way up there."

"Or… we build you a way." Olivia said.

"Empty your pockets, then. Let's see what we have.." Jesse began pulling things out of his inventory.

Besides the sword, he had some leftover cobblestone and a redstone block from the armour room, but other than that, he had nothing useful. He put it down on the ground in front of them, along with everything else the others had in their inventories.

Axel had some TNT, various types of fireworks, and the minecart from the Nether. Olivia had a slime block, some pistons, and some repeaters. Lukas had a surprising amount of wool, probably from Soren's fake world.

"Any ideas?" Jesse asked his friends. Their faces were grim. They probably still weren't happy with Jesse's decision.

"We build a TNT lawnchr." Olivia suggested. " Jesse can clim. on and fly into t.e Storm."

He nodded. It didn't sound too bad, and it would definitely blast him high enough to get into the Witherstorm. It also sounded very redstone-y, something Olivia could definitely figure out.

"WATCH OUT!" Lukas suddenly yelled (Or at least it looked like he yelled), pointing to something over Axel's shoulder. A purple tractor beam was approaching fast.

Jesse barrelled straight into his friend, sending both of them tumbling to the side (Kind of hard to do, considering how much smaller he was) as the tractor beam lit up the ground Axel was just standing on. Finding nothing, the tractor beam moved on. He let out a breath.

"Thanks, man." Axel yelled, right into Jesse's ear so he could hear it. It was barely above a whisper to him, but he heard it.

"Thanks." He got off the bigger boy's chest and pulled him to his feet. By sheer luck, the items they had thrown on the ground were still there. Thank Notch.

Axel nodded. "Let's .urry up and finis. this!"

Jesse didn't do much building. He couldn't do much, anyways, when everyone just started building and didn't say any instructions he could lip read. They just rushed around, placing down redstone and obsidian so fast his eyes almost couldn't follow. He just sort of stood there, sword drawn, watching his friends build. Dammit, he felt so useless.

 _I'm not useless,_ he thought to himself. _I'm going to finish what I started_.

Jesse was jerked out of his thoughts when someone tapped him on the shoulder. It was Axel. "It's ready. C'mon." he mouthed slowly. He lead him over to the slime launcher thing. It had a stone and obsidian base, with pistons and slime blocks at the top to push him towards the Storm once he was in the air. Pretty impressive for something built under five minutes.

Jesse stood on top of the TNT. It was flashing white already, and would blow in a matter of seconds. He looked up at the Storm and briefly considered yelling "GERONIMOOOO!" just because he could, but decided against it. This was serious stuff here. He couldn't bring himself to joke.

Just as the TNT expanded before exploding, Reuben leaped right at his chest, and Jesse barely caught him. He held Reuben tight. He knew he should've just pushed Reuben away from the TNT, but he couldn't bring himself to. Jesse was scared, and having his almost lifelong friend in his arms dulled that fear. That fear took over his common sense.

"Reuben! This is no place for a PIIIGGGGGG!" Jesse screamed anyways as the TNT exploded, throwing him up into the air. For a moment, he felt weightless and free. He was suspended in the air. He could see for blocks and blocks.

Then the slime blocks hit him from behind, sending him and Reuben tumbling into the belly of the Storm.

 **Axel's POV**

He watched as Jesse made it through the hole in the Storm, disappearing. The launcher had worked! Well, of course it worked, it was Olivia's idea. But still!

"Woo!" he cheered. But when he saw the grim looks on Olivia's and Lukas' faces, he immediately sobered up. Right. As awesome as the launcher was, their friend was still in danger. He wasn't quite sure why he even let Jesse go up there. Like what Lukas had said earlier, friends didn't let friends get themselves killed. At least he thought Lukas had said that.

"Now what?" Lukas asked, a few seconds later. "Jesse's inside, and now he's going to destroy the Command Block. What do we do?"

"We wait?" Axel suggested. Olivia shot him an exasperating look. "What? There's literally nothing we can do down here to help Jesse, who's all the way up there." He waved in the general direction of the Storm. "All the endermen are angry, too, so we don't need to chase any more of them."

The three of them stood for a bit, just staring at the Storm, which continued to rip apart the land. Axel wondered what it was like inside it. It probably smelled.

"Shit." Lukas said, so suddenly that Olivia flinched hard.

"What is it?" Olivia asked, clearly worried.

"We sent Jesse up there," he pointed to the Storm, "but how's he gonna get down?"

"Shit." both Olivia and Axel cursed.

 **Jesse's POV**

For a moment, it was completely black as he and Reuben entered the Storm. He wrapped both his arms around Reuben, shielding him from whatever could hit them in there. There wouldn't be any tractor beams _inside_ the Storm, would there?

Then, he was falling past blurry black and purple shapes, hitting the "ground" hard. Reuben squirmed out of his arms. He propped himself up on his elbows. He wasn't too injured, just a few bruises.

"You shouldn't have surprised me like that, Reuben." Jesse scolded. "But.. I'm glad I'm not alone right now."

He stood up on the slightly squishy surface and looked around. The entire place was dim, everything bathed in a soft (yet creepy) purple light. The air was humid and smelled faintly of rotten flesh and dust. Random glowing mushrooms were growing everywhere, due to the moist environment and low light levels. Occasionally, the ground shook, but not enough to knock him off his feet.

Then he saw the bodies. They were everywhere, strewn all over the little piles of blackened matter, stuck to the walls, stuck to the ceiling, stuck to each other… and their eyes were open and unseeing, their mouths open in a silent scream, glowing a sickly shade of purple. As if the light was coming from inside them. Were they even alive? Was this what Gabriel went through?

He turned away. "C'mon, Reuben, let's go find the Command Block. And we're _sticking together,_ okay? I don't want to lose you." he said. Reuben seemed to nod, like _Yes sir!_ before running ahead of Jesse a little bit, but staying within his line of sight.

He walked in a straight line. The hole he had entered through had been around the middle of the Storm. And since the body of the Storm was built around the Command Block, the Command Block should be in the middle, right? So if he walked in a straight- ish line, he'd eventually get there.

The Storm gave a shudder, and this time it _did_ knock him off his feet. He tumbled and rolled like a bean inside a shaking maraca. If he lived, he had to thank Ivor for enchanting the armour so strongly, or else he would've been impaled several times by now.

As soon as the shuddering stopped, he sprang to his feet and searched for Reuben. Other than the dust and minor scratches, he looked fine. But he was looking at something behind Jesse's shoulder. He turned around.

It was the butcher, from the porkchop vendor back at Endercon. Jeez, that seemed like centuries ago. He'd traded away his sword for Reuben's life.

Reuben jumped as soon as he realized who it was, and bolted away in fear.

"No! Reuben, wait! We need to stay together-!" He was cut off as the Storm moved again, threatening to slam him into a jagged wall. He ran after Reuben. If the Storm did move again, he would lose Reuben.

The Storm turned, sending him bouncing off the walls and (thankfully) landing on a relatively flat surface. And by some stroke of luck, in front of him was the Command Block. He ran towards it, tripped, and landed flat on his face, coming very close to breaking his nose. Reuben ran up to him, his eyes widened in concern. Jesse waved him off gently.

"Whoa…" he gasped, getting up and looking at the Command Block. It sat on a pile of obsidian, and a strange black archway loomed above it, showing it off like a centerpiece to a table. That was in the center of a large cavern- like thing, with a strange purple powder that dusted the floor. The air was a little warmer here.

"We meet again, Command Block." he muttered, drawing the diamond sword. His heart was pounding in his chest. This was it. The end.

He walked up to the Command Block and gripped the sword tightly. "Now it's time to destroy you."

Jesse swung the sword right into the Command Block. Cracks appeared all over it, but ultimately, it didn't break. All right then. He was about to bring the sword down for another blow-

The archway began to move, wriggling and twisting into separate pieces. The Storm trembled violently. The archway wasn't an archway, it was several tentacles twisted together, ready to wake up at the first sign of danger. Like an immune system fighting off a virus.

Jesse was the virus here. And this immune system was strong.

He ducked as a tentacle tried to behead him, and he lost his balance and fell off the obsidian pile and landed on his back next to Reuben. He got up as fast as he could and backed up, Reuben following. The tentacles were everywhere, growing out of the walls and waving madly. He ducked twice more as tentacles tried to whack him upside the head.

"Okay…" he gasped, after he got over his shock, "Reuben, whatever happens, you stay out of the way, alright? I don't want you getting hurt!"

Reuben seemed worried, but nodded anyways. Jesse nodded, turned, and charged at the closest tentacle. He waited a second, lunged, and sliced the tentacle in half like a hot knife through butter (Wow, this sword was good!). The severed piece fell to the floor, writhing, even though it had been cut off. Ew.

He went back to Reuben, who was dodging a swinging tentacle. Jesse lunged and severed that one, too. He wasn't going to _not_ defend Reuben, after all.

He then clambered up the obsidian pile to get to the Command Block. The tentacles here were even wilder. Jesse raised his sword, and just because he could, yelled "BRING IT ON!". He wasn't dying until he destroyed the Command Block. He was going to take it down, with or without him.

A tentacle swiped at him, but Jesse was ready. He ducked and swiped back, cutting it short enough that it was no longer a danger to him. He turned and did the same to another. The third tentacle tried to be a smart a** and sweep his feet out from under him, but Jesse cut that one down too. The fourth one tried to impale him in the face, but he swung up and cut it off.

This was looking good so far.

For a moment, the coast was clear, so he charged at the Command Block and whacked it as hard as he could. The Storm gave another violent shudder. The cracks on the Command Block grew in length and depth, but it still did not break.

Alright then. He'd just keep hitting it until it broke.

He raised the swor-

And then The Storm began to _roll._ Like, actually _roll_. Jesse tumbled off the obsidian and fell as the Storm rolled, landing on what once was the ceiling, but now was the floor. The Command Block was several blocks above him, with no obvious way up. It was very much out of reach.

"Oh come _on_!" Jesse growled.

His eyes darted around, searching for some way up to the Command Block. Throw the sword? No, he was a terrible shot, why'd he even think of that? Build up? No, he'd left his cobblestone with the others. Argh!

Jesse spotted several crevices on the walls (The stomach?) of the Storm. His eyes followed them, planning out how he could climb them. He spotted a ledge that looked large enough to stand on. He looked straight up, at the dangling tentacles that surrounded the Command Block. One of those tentacles was within leaping distance of the ledge. He did some quick visualizing in his head.

"Okay, Reuben. I'm going to climb the wall and swing towards the Command Block with one of those tentacles." he told the pig. "I want you to stay away from harm, alright?"

Reuben gave him the pig version of the "But I want to help!" face.

"I mean it, Reuben. I'm serious."

Reuben looked downcast, but nodded and scurried away. Jesse ran to the wall and began climbing. The Storm's movements had calmed somewhat.

He scrambled onto a smaller ledge that sat just below the ledge he wanted to get on. He bent his legs a little, leaped, and grabbed the edge of the ledge (rhyming!), pulling himself up the same way he did on the flying machine. He stood on the ledge and drew his sword, ran to the edge and-

-fell off, because the ledge wasn't a ledge. It was a freaking Witherstorm head. How much less convenient could this get?!

He hit the floor hard (Oh, that knee would definitely bruise tomorrow- if he was still alive by then). Reuben ran up to him and tried to check if he was okay. He was. Sort of. His body ached from hitting the floor so many times and rolling on rocky surfaces.

"I thought I told you to stay put, Reuben!" he scolded, though his heart wasn't really in it. If Reuben were the one to fall several blocks, he would be checking on him too.

Reuben's eyes widened dramatically and he squealed, staring fearfully at something behind Jesse. Jesse turned around and immediately dived out of the way as a tractor beam swept across the ground he was standing on moments ago. Yeap, things _could_ get less convenient.

He yelped as he took a huge sidestep to avoid another beam. He looked behind him. A gaping hole with jagged sides led straight down… probably all the way to the ground below. Falling down one of those would mean instant death. He had to be extra careful now.

He turned his attention back to the Storm's head, just as the tractor beam picked up one of the severed tentacles. It floated slowly upwards… _upwards…_

"Aha!" Jesse said. "Reuben, I'm going to use one of those tractor beams to get up to that head!"

Reuben gave him the "That's a bad idea" face. And Jesse completely agreed with him.

"I know it's a bad idea, but it's the only one we've got." he said, hoping his voice wasn't shaking with fear. "It's either me or the world."

Reuben still looked like he was doubting his sanity, but he didn't do anything else, so Jesse continued.

"I need you to stay out of sight, okay?" he asked. "I don't want you getting caught in the tractor beams too."

Reuben nodded (albeit a little reluctantly), and hid behind some stone. Jesse turned to the Storm's head.

"Hey, you big ugly brute!" he shouted. "Catch me if you can, I'm the gingerbread man!"

The tractor beam washed over him, turning his vision purple, and he began to rise towards the Storm's head, and it's two rows of dull, powerful teeth that probably had more crushing power than the Ender Dragon. His heart was almost beating right out of his chest. His forehead was hot and sticky with sweat. He readied the sword. Closer… closer…

He jammed the sword right in the centre of the head's purple eye, turning off the tractor beam. Before Jesse could begin to fall, he grabbed the edge of the head and swung himself up, legs spread out to keep his balance. It was like riding a wild horse, only this horse was ten times bigger than him, several blocks tall, and extremely pissed off.

He waited for one of the tentacles to get close to the head, before he leaped out and wrapped his free arm and legs around it, securing himself like the "virus" he was. He looked up at the Command Block, dangling just out of reach. It's console flickered weakly, and he imagined it making hissing noises, like a malfunctioning redstone machine.

He briefly wondered if the Command Block could even be used in redstone.

WHAM!

He cried out in surprise, and pain. He _really_ had to thank Ivor later for making the armour so strong.

A tentacle had grabbed him from behind, yanking him away from the Command Block by wrapping itself around his legs. The sword, the super- important- key- to- destroying- the- Command Block sword _fell,_ landing below him on the ground, completely and utterly out of reach. His hands were pathetically empty.

"No no no no no NO NO!" he screamed in frustration. Dammit, dammit, dammit! This was pretty much the worst possible time to drop something. No sword, no destroyed Command Block, no defeated Storm, yes chaos.

As he glared at the sword far below him, he saw Reuben trot up to the sword, as if he were deciding whether to pick it up or not. An idea stuck him. It was risky, but he had faith.

"Hey Reuben!" he called out. Reuben looked up. "I need your help! Remember how we used to play fetch?"

He couldn't see what Reuben's facial expression was from here, but he could imagine a determined look on his beloved pig as he picked up the sword in his mouth and began to leap from crevice to crevice, making his way up towards Jesse.

"Yes, that's it, Reuben!" he shouted as Reuben made his way closer and closer. "I believe in you!" And he did. He was filled with so much pride for _his_ Reuben he thought he might explode. Maybe the explosion would take out the Command Block…

He twisted away from the Storm's head when the tentacle swung him too close to it. He was so close to the teeth, he could've reached out and poked one. He could see all the crushing power each one of the teeth possessed.

Reuben made his way towards an outstretched tentacle, right above Jesse's position. He knew what Reuben wanted to do.

"Jump, I'll catch you!" Jesse shouted, holding out his hands as far out as they could go. Reuben ran along the tentacle and jumped, soaring out and then down. For a terrifying second, Jesse thought he wouldn't be able to catch Reuben, but then he managed to grab one of Reuben's legs with his left hand. He used his right hand to take the sword from Reuben's mouth.

"You did it! I knew I could count on you!" Jesse praised him. Reuben grinned, and Jesse felt his own face split into a grin too. He had never felt more happy before. Reuben, _his Reuben,_ had pretty much saved the world. His Reuben was a hero.

"Now it's time to end this this once and for a-!"

The head grabbed half of Reuben's body in a crushing hold, and Jesse's heart almost stopped. His voice died in his throat.

His only thought was _Shit, that's my Reuben!_

"Hold on, buddy!" he yelled, maybe even screamed. He tugged as hard as he could, his heart once again trying to break out of his chest, only this time it felt like it might succeed. Reuben's eyes were wide, consumed with fear and pain as his little body was slowly crushed under the blunt teeth of the Storm. He was the rope in a game of Tug of War between Jesse and the Storm.

He pulled as hard as he could. The Storm pulled as hard as it could. The Storm was a thousand times bigger than him, with the power of a Command Block behind it. It was a pointless game from the start.

With one final jerk, Jesse lost his grip on his Reuben at the same time the Storm lost it's grip on _his Reuben_.

With one final look of fear in his eyes, Reuben fell, down and down and down and _straight down the hole that went all the way to the ground._ He fell and fell until he became a little pink dot in Jesse's vision. He fell until he was _gone._

His Reuben was gone.

The Storm had taken his Reuben from him.

The Storm was going to _pay._

"REUBEN!" he screamed, tears blurring his vision and turning everything into an ugly smear of purple- black. Some people say black was the colour of death.

He let out all his anger in one agonizing scream he couldn't even hear, twisted around, and jammed the sword that _his Reuben_ had worked so hard to get to him right into the heart of the Storm. He hit it so hard, the sword shattered on impact, cutting the skin on his hand. It hurt.

He didn't care.

The Command Block flashed a painful white as it disintegrated. The head that had taken away his Reuben dropped, it's eye dulling to a mundane purple. The tentacle wrapped around Jesse's legs went slack, releasing him and letting him fall. The Storm shook violently as it began to break apart. He couldn't see anything but flashing white and purple.

He still didn't care.

Jesse was falling and falling and falling, the same way his Reuben had fallen. He was going to die.

And he didn't freaking care.

His Reuben was gone.

 **-o.0.o-**

 **Final word count: 7139**

 ***Star Shield armour. It's the blue, white, and black armour. No shoulder spikes. Or the second one from the left, I think.**

 **HELP ME: Whenever I edit a doc on the document manager and then save it, it doesn't save, even though the website says it did. If anyone can help me with this, PM me. Thanks!**

 **So yeah, that happened. I worked pretty hard on this chapter, so that's why it's so late. Also school happened, and I had homework.**

 **Thank you to all of those who took the time to click on this fanfiction and read it, and then leave a review. They mean so much to me, and I kinda need some right now…**

 **Again, thank you all so much, and see you next chapter. It might come a month from now again.**

 **:/(**


	8. Full Circle

**Decibels chpt.8:** **Everything was going to be alright**

 **Hey guys. Here's the next chapter.**

 **Guest Replies:**

 **Silvermoon:** **Thanks! You just made my day! :))**

 **Kaos Ruin:** **Thank you! Glad you're enjoying it! :))**

 **CatholicMom:** **I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you're trying to say. But thanks for taking the time to review!**

 **SUPER IMPORTANT NOTE:** **So I've uploaded a chapter. I read through it, find some mistakes, and decide that I need to edit it. So I go to my doc manager, view the doc I want to edit, and edit it. Then I click the save button. The website says I have saved all changes, but when I read through it again, the changes clearly hasn't saved. Help, anyone? PM me if you can help, thanks.**

 **WARNING:** **There is a little bit of a graphic description in this chapter. You'll know it as soon as you read the first word.**

 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own MC:SM. Minecraft and Telltale does. Otherwise some things would have happened differently… (Common sense isn't all that common, is it?)**

 **-o.0.o-**

 _Jesse was hunting. He didn't like hunting. Hunting meant killing innocent animals that were just trying to live their lives in peace, only to have some scrawny something year old (he wasn't quite sure how old he was) kill them, snuffing out their lives._

 _Go ahead. Call him a coward. But that was what he thought, and he wasn't going to change it._

 _So why was he hunting?_

 _Well, desperation can drive you to do many things. Jesse was starving. His pathetic wheat farm had been trampled by zombies the night before, and the current batch wouldn't grow in time for Jesse to be able to eat it before dying. The potatoes were even slower than the wheat. Rotten flesh would kill him faster than starvation. He wasn't quite tall enough to reach for apples that weren't even ripe._

 _So here he was, deep inside a thick forest, clutching an arrow he got from a skeleton that had tried to kill him two days ago. It had nearly succeeded._

 _He forged through the vegetation, tripped clumsily over tree roots and rocks, and occasionally ducked behind trees to avoid some mobs that had evaded the sunlight by hiding in the shade. HIs stomach growled. His hands were a little shaky._

 _Then Jesse tripped. And fell. Dammit, Jesse! Why couldn't you be less clumsy?_

 _He rolled down a bumpy, grassy slope, lost the arrow somewhere along the way, ate some grass, and landed in some sort of pond/ lake with a splash. Freezing cold water filled his lungs as he accidentally breathed in. He could already feel his body grow numb. His vision dimmed instantly._

 _No! He didn't know how to swim! Not well, anyways! He didn't want to die like this!_

 _Luckily, the water wasn't too deep, and he managed to doggy- paddle his way up, throwing himself on the shore to cough/ barf the water he had inhaled. He couldn't have been underwater for very long, and yet the amount of water he coughed up amazed him. Maybe he had big lungs._

 _When he was done coughing up water (Which kind of hurt, by the way), he noticed something pink in front of him. It definitely was not a flower. He looked up._

 _It was a pig. A real, alive, and relatively healthy looking pig. It had wide, innocent black eyes that shone with curiosity, the cutest nose ever, and a strange brown mark on it's back. It's ears twitched as green eyes met black. They stared at each other._

 _Jesse's stomach growled, reminding him of how he came to be so far away from home in the first place. Food._

 _He scrambled to his feet, and without hesitation, lunged at the pig, swinging his right fist forward with a determined yell. He was going to get food, and he was going to show whoever dumped him into the wild alone that he could_ _ **survive**_ _._

 _The pig also lunged forward (Probably in self defense), caught the side of Jesse's palm in his mouth, and bit down. Only now did he notice that this pig was not fully grown. He was lucky it wasn't, or else the bite would've taken out the meaty part of his palm. That would've been really bad._

" _OW!" Jesse yelped, yanking his hand free and jumping back a little. He very nearly launched himself straight back into the pond. "Ow… crap.." Blood was already beginning to pool in his palm, leaking from roughly torn skin ripped apart in a crescent shape. He clutched it with his left hand, pressing down as much as he could without screaming. That was a lot of blood from one bite!_

 _Jesse looked at the pig, which was still staring up at him with wide eyes, only this time it was backing away slowly, shaking in fear. It's -actually, his- eyes were now filled with terror. He recognized a threat when he saw one. The pig was afraid of Jesse._

 _Jesse was torn between killing the pig for food and leaving the pig alone. Now that he was standing up, he could see that the pig wasn't very big, didn't seem to look all that old, and was so darn_ _ **innocent**_ _. Go ahead. Call Jesse a coward or something. But he would rather find a pig that was already dying than a piglet that had barely started his life, only to be snuffed out by some random boy in the forest._

" _Sorry about that." Jesse finally said. The pig did not react. "It's just that… you're the first pig I've seen in forever, and I'm hungry. So, um, yeah."_

 _The pig oinked, as if he understood Jesse. He probably did._

 _Jesse stared at the pig some more. The pig stared at Jesse some more. Jesse's hand continued to drip blood, staining the grass a little bit, reminding him of the wound. He winced as he remembered it. With starvation, blood loss, hypothermia, and maybe an infection, he would die even faster now. He needed food. There was a pig standing in front of him._

 _What the heck was he doing?_

 _Jesse sighed, turned around, and knelt next to the pond, plunging his hand in to wash away the blood and pig saliva. It stung like mad, but he kept it in the water, gently swishing it back and forth to wash away the germs. Actually, he wasn't quite sure if the water was contaminated, but it wasn't like beggars could be choosers, right?_

 _He ripped one leg of his pants into rough strips, wrapping it tightly around his hand and tying it off with a sloppy left- handed knot. The entire time he was doing this, the pig watched Jesse with his wide black eyes, almost as if he felt_ _ **guilty**_ _of biting Jesse. This was getting ridiculous._

" _Don't look at me like that." Jesse said as he struggled to tie a knot one- handed, and with his non- dominant hand. "You were defending yourself."_

 _The pig oinked, almost as if he wanted to say "Sorry". Who knew pigs could be so expressive?_

 _Jesse finally finished tying one last knot to secure his impromptu bandage. It sucked, but it did it's job. With nothing left to do at the pond, he turned back to the pig._

" _Bye, pig. Go live your piggy life." he waved goodbye (with his left hand) and walked away. Now that he wasn't going to kill any animals, he either had to get extremely lucky and find a town somewhere, or beat a couple of zombies with his left hand until one of them dropped a potato or a carrot, but those were pretty rare. Pumpkins might work, but it wouldn't sustain him for very long, and most of it was just seed, anyways._

 _He was so deep in thought, he very nearly tripped over a certain pig that had been following him. He managed to catch himself against a nearby tree._

" _Woah!" he yelped, grabbing the tree with his working hand. "Why were you following me?"_

 _The pig oinked. Jesse didn't know what to make out of that._

" _Are you going to keep on following me?"_

" _Oink."_

 _Jesse sighed. "What am I going to do with you?"_

" _Oink."_

 _Jesse continued to walk in a random directly, half of him thinking that walking in a line would never work, and the other half hoping that a town would magically appear somewhere. Towns meant people, and people meant food somewhere. He could ask nicely for some food. If that didn't work, he would beg, and if that didn't work… he either dies or… steals. That went against so many of his morales._

" _Oink." The pig was tugging on his (intact) pants leg gently. He kept pulling Jesse to the right, as if he wanted Jesse to go that way._

" _You want me to go that way?"_

 _The pig nodded. Okay, Jesse was going insane. He was having a conversation with a pig. He was going to follow a pig. He was being helped by a pig. This was weird. This was really weird._

 _He followed after the pig, who was leading the way through the thick greenery that carpeted the forest floor. The late afternoon sun shone through the cracks in the canopy, casting shards of gold on his skin. It really was a beautiful day._

" _Oink."_

 _The pair had reached the edge of the forest, and beyond said forest was a_ _ **freaking town.**_ _With well- built buildings. And roads. And people. Lots of people. Jesse hadn't seen any people before now, and the sights and smells and colours overwhelmed him._

" _...Wow." he managed to gasp. "Wow." he swallowed to clear his throat, then looked down at the pig, who seemed to be_ _ **smiling.**_ _"Thank you."_

" _Oink."_

" _I think we just became friends. Like, best friends, since you're my only friend, and therefore automatically the best…"_

 _The pig (he really needed a name for him) stared at him like he was slightly off his rocker. A perfectly valid assumption, to be honest._

" _Alright." Jesse sighed, turning back to the town. "Time to go get something to eat."_

 _He took his first step into town and pretty much forgot why he was there in the first place. It was amazing! These people had created a fully- functioning community, with different systems for food, water, and shelter. There were streets lined with houses in which people lived in. Small shops that sold many things, from armour to flowers to books (he didn't know how to read). It was like he had stepped into a different dimension._

 _The pig brushed against his bare leg, jolting him back into reality. He oinked softly, like "Hey, are you going to get food or what?"_

" _Sorry." Jesse apologized, even though he had no idea what he was apoligizing for. He walked along a path labeled "Market- we have pretty much everything here!" He hope everything included food._

 _He reached the market. It was crowded, causing the pig to press himself against Jesse's legs so they didn't get separated. The air was filled with the shouts of people bargaining over things. He could smell so many different things, from leather to potatoes to potions to wool blankets. Wow, this market really did have everything!_

" _Get some freshly- baked bread over here! Freshly baked, crispy bread over here for only five gold ingots! Get 'em before they run out, 'cause I ain't a bread fountain!"_

" _Anyone want some Nether Wart (what's that?)? Fresh from the Nether, nice and ripe and ready for brewing! If you pay in slime balls I'll give you an extra five!"_

" _Top- quality leather boots over here! Made from only the finest cured leather in the land! Only two iron ingots per pair, and the first ten people to buy them get a stylish leather hat, free!"_

 _Yeap. This market had everything. But the shop owners all had a price for their items. Jesse totally got that. You give someone something you worked for, you better be getting something back._

 _But Jesse had nothing. He was still a bit damp from his fall into the pond, so trading away his shirt was a no- go. Nobody wanted pants that had a half- ripped right leg, and besides, Jesse wasn't giving away his pants of all things to give out in a crowded place. He literally had nothing._

" _I don't suppose you have anything to trade?' Jesse yelled to his pig friend. The pig did a pig version of shaking the head in a "no"._

 _Jesse sighed, turned around, and walked out of the marketplace to a less crowded area. He was so close to his goal of getting food, and yet it was just out of arm's reach. As if his body sensed his desperation, his stomach growled in earnest._

 _He sat down hard on the curb, resting his chin on him working hand. The pig sat down next to his feet and blinked up at him with those innocent eyes. The same eyes that made Jesse spare the pig's life, which ultimately got him here._

" _What do you say we do now?" Jesse asked his companion. "Beg? Steal?"_

 _The pig did not answer, those his eyes became a little less innocent and a little more sad. Jesse sighed again._

" _I guess we'll beg."_

 **(Time Skip)**

 _They had been successful in getting enough miscellaneous items to trade in for a carrot and a loaf of bread. Jesse gave the carrot to his pig, and had the bread for himself. It wasn't very filling, but it made him feel infinitely better._

 _The sun was setting. People were leaving, retreating back to their homes for the night. Some spared Jesse a glance, others didn't even acknowledge his existence. He shivered and wrapped his arms around himself and the pig (who had climbed into his lap at some point to conserve warmth). He didn't know where his pathetic little shack was anymore; he had wandered too far already. Besides, he had found other people. He wasn't leaving that._

" _At least we don't have to worry about mobs, eh?" Jesse smiled, hoping to lighten the mood a little. "I'm extremely glad that you happen to know the town that has a gate and some pretty sick walls."_

" _Oink." the pig oinked. He looked up at meet Jesse's eyes. He was getting hungry too, and he wanted food._

" _I know, I know. But we can't, the shop keepers locked their booths up and I don't want to break them."_

 _The pig huffed and curled up,shoving his nose deeper into Jesse's stomach to keep warm._

" _I really do need a name for you.' Jesse murmured, wrapping his arms around the pig's midsection. The pig oinked in agreement._

" _Was that a yes?"_

" _Oink."_

" _Alright then, I'll just start naming off names and you tell me which one you want, okay?" Jesse asked. The pig nodded._

" _Okay, um… Ace."_

 _The pig seemed to scowl, like "Hell naw!". Jesse moved on to the next name._

" _Uh.. Benjamin." he suggested. The pig shook his head again. "Benedict?" Shake. "Felix?" Another shake. "Hershey." And yet another headshake. "What? Come on, that was a cute name!"_

 _The pig laughed at him. Jesse's eyes narrowed playfully._

" _Don't make fun of me now, or I might force you into a stupid name, like Cheetos or Baby or something."_

 _The pig seemed to roll his eyes, but settled down in Jesse's lap again, prompting him to carry on with the names. He did. He went from goofy names like "Demon" to rather plain names like "Owen" or "Ben". Naming names was actually kind of fun, and was a great way to pass time. When Jesse had suggested "Jesse Jr", the pig had snorted and shook his head vigorously._

" _Nugget?"_

" _Oink!" No._

" _How about Samosa? Or Noodles? Or Potato?"_

 _He received a sharp jab to the stomach. Jesse laughed, then slapped his hand to his mouth to muffle it. Then he switched hands, because he'd accidentally used the bleeding one. He giggled, muffled by his hand. Gee, when was the last time he had laughed so freely like this?_

" _Okay, what about Reuben?" he suggested, after he had regained his breath._

 _Surprisingly, the pig did not protest. He just blinked up at Jesse with his wide innocent eyes._

" _Is that a yes or a no?"_

 _The newly- dubbed Reuben nodded._

" _Whatever you say, Reuben." Jesse sighed, staring up at the stars. The streets were dark now, lit only by a couple of redstone lamps along the sides. The houses were still and silent. Only the faint moans of zombies could be heard, beyond the town's walls._

 _Jesse yawned. It was much later than his usual "bedtime", and he was getting tired, especially since he had done so much walking that day. He stretched out on the grass, flipping over to lie half on his stomach, half on his right side. Reuben got off his lap to curl up next to his chest. It helped to stave off some of the coldness ._

" _So… Reuben, huh?" he murmured, wrapping an arm around his pig friend, his_ _ **first**_ _friend. "Reuben the pig. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"_

 _Reuben snorted, content, and settled down. Soon enough, he was breathing softly, sound asleep. Jesse felt his own eyes begin to close, and his breaths began to even out._

 _He fell asleep._

 **(Time skip)**

 _Jesse woke up to someone tapping his shoulder rapidly, as if trying to wake him up. He made a very unintelligent noise and reluctantly cracked his eyes open. Instead of the blinding sunlight he was expecting, it was someone's face._

" _You can't sleep here!" the girl's voice hissed urgently. "The setup work for Endercon will begin soon, and the adults here are super nitpicky and annoying and will probably give you a hard time!"_

 _When he had spent too many milliseconds blinking away the sleep, and trying to process the girl's rapid- fire speed talking, she turned to someone behind her, and said "Axel, a little help?"_

 _Suddenly, he was hoisted up, put on his feet, and dropped. He yelped, falling to his knees as he tried to calm his racing heart. Reuben was now fully awake, and was running circles around the three of them, squealing madly. Jesse glared up at the two people who had oh so pleasantly woken him up._

 _The girl was rather short (though Jesse wasn't much taller), with dark skin and hard brown eyes. Her brown hair was bushy and untamed, and the only things keeping it from turning into an afro were the beanie shoved on, and the goggles on her forehead. She wore an oversized red shirt, beige, worn down cargo pants, and black leather boots that almost reached her knees._

 _The boy behind her was much, much taller than the both of them, towering over him by at least an entire block. He had black hair and eyes, with thick dark eyebrows that almost connected in the middle. He wore a huge green sweater, brown pants, and black finger less gloves that matched his black flip- flops. His arms were crossed, and he was frowning._

" _What was that for?" Jesse asked, annoyed. "What did I ever do you you?"_

" _Chill, man, Olivia here just saw you sleeping here and wanted to wake you up before the other people come." the boy said. "The name's Axel, by the way."_

" _Jesse, and that's Reuben." Jesse introduced himself, getting up and pointing to the pig. He oinked innocently up at the two new people standing in front of him._

" _What were you doing, sleeping in the streets?" Olivia asked, tilting her head to the side a little. "We haven't seen you around before."_

" _Um…" Jesse, on reflex, reached up to scratch the back of his head, when Olivia suddenly gasped._

" _Your hand! It's bleeding!" she gasped._

" _That looks like it hurts. A lot." Axel added, his eyebrows scrunched up in concern. "Is it wrapped in your pants?"_

" _Come, we've got some stuff back at our place that could help." Olivia said, grabbing Jesse's other hand and dragging him along the path. We also might have enough material to fix your pants."_

" _R- really? But you've known me for, like, less than ten minutes." he stammered, as they exited the town and made their way into the woods, Axel following close behind. "I heard all the stuff people were yelling at the market yesterday; everything costs something if you want to get it. Doesn't that mean I have to trade you guys for healing?"_

" _Geez, haven't you heard of generosity?" Axel said, though not unkindly. "It's when someone is being nice and wants to do something for you, free of charge. That's means you don't have to trade anything."_

" _Yeah, what he said." Olivia agreed. "You're hurt, and you obviously have nothing on you anyways, so we're helping you. That's what friends are for."_

" _Friends?" Jesse echoed. Friends. He didn't have any friends, except Reuben, but they'd only been friends for a few hours, so he wasn't sure if that counted. And Reuben was a pig. But Olivia and Axel were human. People he could talk with. "Friends." he repeated, just for the heck of it. It was a nice word, friends._

" _Yeah, friends. You know, someone you hang out with, talk with, all that friendly stuff. Haven't you had a friend before?" Axel asked._

" _No."_

" _Oh."_

" _We can be your friends!" Olivia beamed brightly. "And our first act of friendliness together is to heal your hand, because I think it's going to get infected otherwise."_

 _Reuben oinked in agreement, his wide black eyes narrowed with worry. He cared. Olivia cared. And Axel, even though he hadn't shown much emotion so far, seemed to care._

 _A sudden burst of happiness bloomed in his chest at the words "be your friends". How was this even happening to him? He had gone from lonely to starved to overwhelmed to happy to having_ _ **friends.**_ _All in less than twenty four hours._

" _Thank you." Jesse said. And those words gave birth to a lifelong friendship._

 _Everything was going to be alright._

* * *

For a moment, he was suspended in the air. Without any noise to distract him, and with his eyes closed, it felt like time had stopped. Just for a moment. In that moment, he felt no fear of dying, hitting the unforgiving ground with a crunch. He didn't even feel sad, that Reuben was dead and that now he was pretty much dead too.

He felt empty. Just empty.

And then he hit the water, and his eyes flew open. Freezing cold water began to fill his lungs as he gasped in surprise. The armour did nothing but pull him down faster than if he wasn't wearing it. Through his blurry vision, he could faintly make out the dark masses of Witherstorm falling around him, streams of bubbles trailing behind them.

Then he realized: Water. I'm alive.

 _Reuben._

He propelled himself through the water, his eyes fixed on the flickering blue- green light that was the sun. Huge chunks of the Witherstorm fell around him, tossing his small body this way and that way and up and down and everywhere. He dodged them all.

If you told him it was impossible to cry underwater, Jesse would tell you otherwise. His eyes burned, and not from opening his eyes underwater. They prickled, like tears were forcing their way out of his eyes from the sheer _desperation_ he was feeling right now. _Reuben, Reuben, Reuben_ his mind chanted. _Get to Reuben. Get to Reuben. Get to Reuben._

Save Reuben.

He broke the surface of the water, hauled himself to shore, and coughed up the water he'd inhaled. The amount of water he swallowed scared him a little. If he had swallowed that much water in so little time, and he had bigger lungs than Reuben, then how much closer to drowning was Reuben than Jesse?

He absently thought about how they met, and how Jesse was soaking wet, like he was now. Wouldn't it be funny if he raised his head and saw something pin-

Holy s***.

It was something pink.

It was Reuben.

Reuben looked absolutely terrible. His once clear pink skin was now bruised and battered. His once black eyes, wide and innocent and free, were now wild with terror and pain. There were sickening pieces of bone sticking out in some places. And- Jesse couldn't go on. Seeing Reuben, _his_ Reuben, broken like this was just _wrong_. It shouldn't be happening. He shouldn't be seeing this. Reuben wasn't supposed to be broken.

This couldn't be happening. Not when Jesse needed someone he could understand.

Just… no. No.

"..Reuben." he gasped, collapsing next to his best friend. He flipped over so he was lying on his right side, cuddling up as close as he possibly could without aggravating Reuben's wounds.

"Reuben." he repeated. "It's me, Reuben, it's okay…"

Reuben was not okay. Why was he telling Reuben it was okay? IT WAS NOT OKAY.

Reuben stared at Jesse, black eyes meeting green. They were starting to glaze over in pain. He was fading. Reuben oinked, trying to send a message to Jesse. _Help me, it hurts._

Jesse's heart shattered into a million pieces, and was blown away by the wind. His best friend was leaving him. _HIs best friend was leaving him._ His friend, his first friend, the person (well, pig) that eventually lead him to his other friends, was _leaving him._

And he was never coming back.

Reuben nudged Jesse's right hand softly, staining his snout with his blood. It was bleeding again, from cutting himself on a shard of the super- sword. Right next to the old, crescent- shaped scar that he had gotten so many years ago. The scar that marked a new friendship.

And now there would be a scar to mark the end of that friendship.

"It's okay, Reuben." he whispered gently, brushing Reuben's snout with the tip of his finger. "I'm fine."

Reuben shivered. He was growing cold.

"Hey, Reuben." Jesse said. He didn't want Reuben to go cold. He needed to distract Reuben enough so he wouldn't feel a thing. So he would go peacefully.

"Reuben the Hero. Has a nice ring to it, don'tcha think?" he asked with a watery smile, recalling how they'd been lying down in that little patch of grass, naming names under the stars. "What do you think?"

Reuben tried to smile, but it almost immediately turned into a grimace. His eyes were unfocused. Jesse's vision began to fill with tears.

"Reuben the Hero it is." Jesse declared. Reuben seemed to nod, but then his body relaxed, and his eyes dulled.

Reuben died.

Like all dead things in this world, his body dissolved into nothing, leaving behind a single floating porkchop.

Reuben died.

Reuben was dead.

He couldn't take it anymore. Over the past few days, he had ran farther than he had ever ran in his life, eaten a slice of cake, gone deaf, almost drowned, cried, screamed, shouted, and yelled. And now, he had lost his best friend. It was too much.

He fainted.

 **-o.0.o-**

 **Word count: 4362**

 **Well, there you go. Some backstory. Also, the name in the chapter selection bar and the name at the top of this chapter is different. That was on purpose.**

 **Shoutout to Ariza (hi!) for including me in her story "Minecraft: Hide and Seek Mode"! It's so good, and I'm not saying this because I'm in it, I'm saying it because it's actually good!**

 **If there are any typos, ignore them. I haven't proofread this yet. I'm doing that tomorrow.**

 **Good night.**


	9. When One Ends, Another Begins

**Decibels chpt.9:** **When One Ends, Another Begins**

 **Guest Replies:**

 **MiloTheRebel2:** **You're not the first one… nice name, by the way :))**

 **Kaos Ruin:** **BWAHAHA EVIL CLIFFHANGER! So many crying people… I lost count :/**

 **So, I made so many people cry last chapter that I made myself cry. Sorry. But this chapter is a little happier!**

 **Also, to those who are American: Good luck.**

 **Okay, on to chapter 9!**

 **Disclaimer:** **It's obvious.**

 **-o.0.o-**

There was a celebration/ memorial to be held in a week, where the former marketplace used to stand. Said marketplace was currently in ruins, but those who weren't tired or injured (there was a frightening amount) were already working on repairs to the town. Temporary camps had been built for now, consisting mostly of dirt huts. Some people were in charge of mining. Others were farming. People were assigned to fish, hunt, rebuild, fight mobs, look after the injured, and all that stuff. In other words, everyone was busy.

Despite that, Jesse didn't know what to do with himself.

Well, not in the sense that he did nothing for the next week. He did sleep through the first day entirely, worrying everybody. They thought he had slipped into a coma or something. Jesse was known for waking up the earliest, after all.

After waking up, everyone else told him that they had put Reuben's porkchop in a chest, and that he could do whatever he wanted with it. No one had touched it since Olivia, who was the one that put it in the chest.

"We could bury him at that waterfall you guys met at." Olivia had suggested slowly (so he could easily read it).

"You said earlier that there was going to be a hall thing built in remembrance of this whole event, right?" he had asked.

"Yes. You want him buried there?"

"Well, it's going to be built where the marketplace used to be. That's where Reuben became Reuben. So I was thinking we put him there. He did save us all." Jesse explained. He hoped his voice didn't crack. It was still hard to talk about his once best friend.

"Alright. If that's what you want." Olivia said.

"Reuben would've wanted it."

Olivia nodded, then left to help some other people fix some redstone with Ellegaard. He hadn't seen her since.

Apparently, word got around that Jesse and his friends had saved the world. In return, the townspeople had told them that they didn't have to do a thing, and they could just sit back and relax and heal, if they needed to. They would take care of all the reconstruction needed.

Normally, they would have refused the offer, but everyone was _so damn tired_ that they didn't even protest. They retired to their dirt hut for most of the day.

Jesse wouldn't have been able to help, anyways. According to Petra, he was classified as injured.

So yeah. Jesse didn't know what to do with himself for the rest of the week.

No one would let him help rebuild. He couldn't hear a thing, and whatever hearing he had left was washed away when he hit the water, the water ripping apart his half- healed eardrums. So having conversations was out of the question.

 _But Jesse, you can lip read!_

Well, next to no one (besides the Order and his friends) knew he was deaf, and he didn't feel like declaring it to the townspeople, either. That meant they wouldn't always look directly at him when speaking, making it impossible to lip read. On top of that, they didn't even speak slower. They spoke at normal speed, which to Jesse looked like the speed of sound. He was simply too tired and frustrated to lip read right now.

Also, Reuben wasn't here. Well, that didn't really have to do with lip reading. But still...

Ever since that first night under the stars, Reuben had always been by his side, whether it be rainy or sunny or snowy or cloudy. Jesse would look down, and there he was, in all his little piggy glory, with wide black eyes and the cutest nose. Reuben was always there to play fetch, talk, cuddle, swim, run, or (his favourite!) play fetch with Jesse.

And now he wasn't. And that felt wrong to him.

He felt so alone.

After a day of doing absolutely nothing, it became nighttime, and everyone retired to their dirt huts. He shared one with Axel, Olivia, Petra, and sometimes Lukas, who seemed to be flickering between the Ocelots and them. They each had separate beds, surrounded by a fire that gave off a very welcome warmth. There were no windows, only the door. They all wordlessly (to Jesse, it was wordlessly) climbed into bed, and maybe they even said goodnight to each other, but Jesse didn't hear it, and therefore didn't respond. He fell into a restless sleep, facing the wall, clutching the extra pillow he had (a gift from a very grateful townsperson) to his chest in an attempt to relieve the coldness that had settled there.

Now, here's the part where Jesse was supposed to dream about Reuben's death over and over, and then waking up to his friends' worried faces. Then they would have a meaningful heart- to- heart moment where they would talk about loss and grief and whatnot. That's what always seemed to happen in the books Jesse used to read.

Nope. His dreams were rather pleasant, although some of them were muted.

He dreamed of his first game of tug of war with Reuben. That was an awesome day. It had been not long after Jesse had met Olivia and Axel, and Jesse was just getting the hang of living with others. Axel and Olivia had gone into town for some supplies, and Jesse opted to stay in their (their!) treehouse to spend time with his best friend.

He then dreamed of his first Endercon experience, and then his first encounter with the Ocelots, the "champions" of the building competition. On that day, he learned that Olivia and Axel had competed in every single Building Competition they could, and each time, they lost to the Ocelots, thus forming a rivalry.

"Oh, look what we've got here!" Aiden had sneered. "Another loser joins the squad!"

"Good one, Aiden!" Maya laughed. She had a high, annoying laugh.

"Jesse is not a loser!" Olivia protested. "He's ten times better than you'll ever be!"

"Pfft, yeah right." Aiden scoffed. Gill laughed. "The fact that he's friends with _you_ makes him a loser already."

Axel stepped forward, ready to launch Aiden into the next month, but Reuben beat him to it. He launched his little body forwards, and maybe it was on purpose, maybe it was by sheer luck, but Reuben kicked him right where the sun doesn't shine. Aiden bent over, howling in pain. Axel was laughing, Olivia was giggling into her hands, and Jesse couldn't help but smile. Reuben oinked, like _Take that, you slob!_

"I hate you!" Aiden managed to grind out. His voice shook. Lukas stepped in.

"Come on, Aiden, let's go." Lukas began walking away. "We need to get to the competition before it starts."

That was the first time his friends had stood up for him. Especially Reuben, who went as far as to attack the bully. That took guts.

He dreamed of other random things, like the time Axel almost scared him right off the treehouse's roof, and Reuben gave Axel the pig version of "the cold shoulder" for an entire week. Or that time where they built a Reuben statue for the Building Competition. When Aiden began to laugh at them, Reuben bared his teeth at him. Despite being a cute pig, he could also be scary. Those teeth were sharp.

Basically, he dreamed about all the good times he had with Reuben. His chest didn't seem so cold and empty anymore.

But then he woke up, and his chest grew cold again. Then he remembered that Reuben was dead and gone, and there would be no more fun times with him.

He sighed, then got up, only to see everyone already awake, sitting on the floor together, with Petra in the middle. They all looked like they didn't sleep a wink. Petra looked like she hadn't slept in years. She kept rubbing her left arm absently.

"Nightmare." Axel mouthed slowly when saw that Jesse was awake. "She was screaming all night. Thought she was dying of Wither sickness again."

Jesse nodded absently, and went to get food for them. He had slept through the whole thing. What kind of friend did that?

 _Oh, but Jesse, you're deaf! There was no way you could've heard a thing!_

Exactly. At times like these, he hated his deafness. He loathed it. He wished the Formidibomb wasn't so close to him when it exploded. Because now he was deaf, and his life was now ten times harder to live. Angry tears pushed their way out of his eyes, and he had to duck behind a tree and rested his forehead against it, gritting his teeth as he tried not to cry.

Dammit! What was wrong with him? Why was his mind tearing itself in two? _Oh, you're deaf now, you're so weak!_ And then _oh, it's not your fault, you're still Jesse, nothing's wrong, it's okay-_ Shut up.

Later, he composed himself, got the food, and made his way back to the hut. He handed out the baked potatoes, sat back down, and acted like nothing had happened. He used to like potatoes, but now they tasted like dust. Really sad dust. Tasteless and bland and void of any nutrition.

That was a great start to the third day. Note the sarcasm.

Despite not having to do anything, the others were actually kind of busy. Lukas kept disappearing, probably to go hang out with the Ocelots, whom Jesse heard had survived. He hadn't seen Aiden yet. He hoped he wouldn't have to.

Petra also kept disappearing randomly, though not as much as Lukas. Jesse wasn't sure why. Maybe she was off doing Petra things? She liked disappearing a lot. But when she was there, she was always trying to help the townspeople fix things.

Axel was always hanging out with Magnus, laughing about things Jesse couldn't hear. He was glad Axel was laughing and smiling and _finally_ getting to know his hero, Magnus.

Olivia, like Axel, was always hanging out with either Petra or Ellegaard. Even if the Order were liars, they were still talented people, and Ellegaard was no exception. Olivia gladly worked with her and from what Jesse could tell, she was learning tons of new things. Good for her!

That left Jesse, alone, with nothing to do. So he wandered around, checking out the construction taking place around the town. Most of the houses had been rebuilt by this time, and people were beginning to restock on supplies, or were helping to rebuild the public spaces, like the marketplace. The memorial hall was also being constructed.

Reuben's porkchop was still in it's chest, waiting to be placed in it's final resting place.

Nothing much happened on the third day. Once again, Jesse dreamed of happy memories of Reuben, only to wake up the next morning and remember all over again that no more of those memories would be made.

Oh, the fourth day. That was when it all came crashing down on him.

He was walking around the rebuilding town, watching people build stuff, when he ran into his least favourite person: Aiden. Luckily, Gill and Maya weren't with him, or it might have been worse.

When Jesse first caught sight of Aiden, he immediately began walking away. He didn't know Jesse was deaf yet. Jesse was currently alone. And yeah, he should've been able to take Aiden on if it came to it, but the past few days haven't exactly helped his self- confidence.

Aiden was opening his mouth; he was saying something Jesse didn't bother reading. He acted like he hadn't heard whatever Aiden said (and he hadn't), and kept walking along. _Please don't care, please don't care, please don't car-_

Someone grabbed his arm, forcing him to turn around and pull it free. Yup, it was Aiden.

"Wut .re yoo doing?" Aiden scowled. _What are you doing?_

"I could ask the same for you." Jesse said, in what he hoped was a cold tone. Aiden didn't take the hint (Or he failed the cold tone).

"Farming, of corse!" Aiden snapped. "Lyke evrywun else in the air-rea! You fink that just becuz you saved" he made air quotes with his hands, "the wurld, you don't kneed to do anyfing?" _Just because you think you saved the world, you don't need to do anything?_

"Since when have I said that?" Jesse all but snapped. "Besides, according to my friends I'm injured." He showed Aiden his bandaged right hand, which was wrapped up like a fingerless glove. He couldn't move his fingers very well.

Aiden seemed to huff in annoyance. "It's not like yoor handz bro-ken." _It's not like your hand's broken._ "That's nutfing compared to others!"

For a moment, Aiden's words rang true. His hand injury was superficial compared to the others he'd seen. When the Witherstorm had exploded, some people hit the ground too hard, breaking bones. Others had hit the water too hard, and had horrible peeling skin, and from what he heard, it was incredibly itchy. Others had almost drowned, and continued to be haunted by their experiences.

Oh yeah. None of them had become deaf, which in a sense, was a "permanent" injury. According to his friends, that meant he needed rest. Aiden didn't know this.

"Wut? Nofhing to say?" Aiden sneered. Jesse had been staring blankly for too long (he did that a lot nowadays). "I hurd yoo wur inside t.e heart of t.e Storm when it explow-ded. Must-of screwed up yur brain moore den I thot it wood."

Jesse mentally began to panic. What the heck had Aiden just said?

Aiden's smile only grew at Jesse's pathetic silence, which frustrated him so much his eyes began to burn with tears. Aiden's mouth was moving, probably spitting out more insults, and all Jesse could do was squint at Aiden's lips as he struggled to read them.

"... ideot…!... (laugh)...so dumb.." was what he could make out. It was only a small fraction of what Aiden was saying. _Idiot! So dumb!_

"Look, I'm not any dumber than when the Witherstorm first spawned!" Jesse snapped. He took a deep breath to steel himself before continuing. "The 'Final Battle', as everyone is calling it, wasn't the first attempt at destroying the Storm. I'm sure you remember it."

Aiden rolled his eyes. "Of course I re-membr it! I wuz dere!"

"Yeah, okay, just making sure." Jesse said sarcastically. "Anyways, we tried to use the Formidibomb to bl- don't give me that look, do you think we had anything else strong enough to blow up a storm?- and guess what? I was the one that set it off. I was extremely lucky to get out alive, and-"

"Oh, yoo were t.e one to set it off? No wunder it did-int wurk!" Aiden retorted. His face began to turn red from rage, which puzzled Jesse. Why was he so mad? "Yoo nevr do anyfing riht!"

 _You never do anything right._ Aiden had said that a lot over the years.

"Excuse me, who won the Building Competition?" Jesse spat. Aiden paused. "Exactly: Me. And who tried to _unfairly_ destroy our build?" he asked, glaring up at the taller boy. "You. And who bullied the other for almost ten year? You. So _don't you dare_ tell me that I can't do anything right! So, what was I saying- right, the Formidibomb. I was the one to set that off. And guess what happened?"

Another deep breath. He'd had enough of Aiden's teasing. He was going to tell him, and damn the consequences!

Aiden did not attempt to answer, so Jesse gave him the answer. "I got deafened. Yeap, that's right, I'm deaf now, and I can't hear a word you're saying. Now, go ahead and continue whatever insults you were spouting out."

For a single moment, Jesse thought Aiden actually felt a little sorry for everything he'd said over the years. The green- eyes boy stood there, his fist clenching and unclenching. He opened his mouth-

And laughed. _Laughed._

"Ohhh, poor Jesse can't here me now! Boo hoo! Now he's a deaf- dumb!" he sneered. Jesse gaped at him. "Playing t.e sim-paf-ee card now, ar.n't you? Such a hero! Oh, is dat a tear in yur eye? Aw, t.e 'grate'" he made air quotes with his fingers, "Jesse is crying! All alo-"

Jesse turned around to run away, but Aiden grabbed his arm, halting him. "Hey, I was-int dun talki-"

"SHUT UP FOR ONCE!" Jesse shouted, or screamed. He couldn't tell, obviously. "I can't hear your insults, so why say them anymore? I've had enough of you! I've had enough of your teasing and your bullying and what you call 'fun'! Just leave me alone already!"

He yanked his arm out of Aiden's grip and walked away. Running away would make him look like a coward. Well, more of a coward than he already was. On a normal day, Jesse would have punched Aiden in the face and marched away. But this was far from a normal day.

Because what normal day was completely silent?

 _You're dumb,_ Aiden had said. _You never do anything right._

He probably shouldn't, but he thought the former statement was a little true now. Yeah, yeah, it's dumb, thinking that he was dumb, but he felt it so often nowadays that he started thinking it was a part of him. He'd be standing with his friends, and there would be little periods of time in which nobody was talking to him, or vise- versa. He'd just be standing there stupidly, eyes switching between people as he struggled to figure out who he was supposed to be looking at. He hated it.

It was several hours later, inside the dirt hut, when all his friends burst in, each in varying stages of worry or disarray. Olivia wasn't wearing her beanie or goggles, so her hair was puffed out in crazy directions. Petra's glove was on the wrong hand, and her bandana was slipping off. Axel's sweater was unzipped (which it never was), and he was hopping on one foot, trying to put one of his flip- flops back on. A few seconds after the others ran in, Lukas ran in. His hair looked a little less styled today, which was unusual for the blond.

Olivia lunged forward and grabbed Jesse's shoulders, her face right in Jesse's. "What did Aiden say to you today?" she asked slowly.

"When did you guys hear about this?" he asked them.

"Just now." Petra answered, readjusting her bandana. "Gaw-sip travels fast here. Ev-ree-one nose you're deaf now."

Jesse closed his eyes and sighed. That shouting match must've been louder than he had realized. Well, of course it was louder than he thought; he was deaf!

"So wut did .e say to yoo?" Axel questioned.

Jesse braced himself. His friends were going to overreact.

"He got angry at me for not helping the other farmers. Then he started insulting me, and I couldn't lip- read anything he was saying, so therefore I stayed silent. He took that as being stupid, so he started joking about how my fight with the Storm must have messed with my brain. The-"

"Let. Me. Go. Punch. Him!" Petra hissed, gripping her sword so tightly her knuckles were white. "The jurk!"

"Let Jesse fin-ish first." Lukas put a hand on Petra's shoulder to restrain her. "Then will see." He didn't look very happy either. His eyes were hard.

"Okay." Jesse swallowed to clear his throat. "So after he called me stupid- which happens a lot, Petra, calm down- I explained to him the whole Formidibomb situation, and how I got deafened by that. And then.." He braced himself again. They were going to explode now. He said the next sentence faster. "He laughed, called me a deaf- dumb person, and made fun of me when I started tearing up. So I told him to shut up. Then I left."

Nobody reacted, which scared Jesse. They just _stared_ at him, like silent statues, frozen in their position. Axel blinked once. Petra's nostrils flared with anger. Other than that, no one moved. He didn't move either.

After a little while (which seemed longer, since no one was moving), he finally spoke. "Are you guys okay?"

"You agree with him." Petra said slowly, probably in an accusing tone. "At leest a part o. yoo does."

Jesse had nothing to say about that. There was a lie right on his lips: No, of course he didn't agree with Aiden! But the "at least part of you does" part really struck him hard, because it was true. One half of him agreed with Aiden, that he was dumb now, and another part of him kept insisting that the thought was ridiculous.

"Newz flash, Petra: Jesse iz deaf." Axel pointed out bluntly. "I don. fink he read wut yoo just said." He gestured to Jesse, who was still frozen in his spot on his bed.

Oh, he'd read all of it. He "knew" every word. But nobody else knew that. Being deaf meant he could act like he hadn't "heard" anything, and therefore could ignore it if he so chooses to. He acted like he hadn't read a thing, and Petra stormed out. Later that day, he saw Aiden. It may have been a trick of the eye, but it looked like he had a growing bruise on his jaw. And Petra seemed to have a split knuckle.

The next day, when he was walking to the farm to grab breakfast for everybody, he caught more than a few people glancing his way. Some had looks of pity. Others did nothing. Some even twitched, like they wanted to ask him if he was alright.

He ignored them. It was so easy to.

Now it was the fifth day. Just two more days until the memorial/ celebration service. What was he going to do until then?

Well, his friends took care of that predicament for him. They seemed to hang out with him more often than usual. He actually didn't mind it all that much, even though he hardly had any time to himself (and they were so bad at being subtle it was cringeworthy). It kept his mind off Reuben's death.

His friends also made an effort to talk to him more, slowly improving his lip reading. L-ke slowly turned into lyke, which finally became like. It was still hard, and often he felt like hitting something out of frustration, but he knew anger solved nothing. So he kept reading lips.

This kept up for the sixth day, too.

In the rare chance that Jesse happened to be alone, he walked around the newly reconstructed town. In terms of the style of buildings, nothing much had changed. The only major changes were the colour of the walls of the town, and the location of the marketplace. That was where the memorial building would be. And he didn't know if it was true, but it was also rumoured that the memorial building would also be the new temple of the Order of the Stone. That would be cool.

And sometimes, while taking those walks around the town, he would catch glimpses of Aiden, Gill, and Maya (mostly Aiden though). They all seemed fine, aside from the fact that Lukas was no longer seen around them as much. Aiden kept shooting him glares. Probably because the day after Jesse had told his friends about their little spat, people kept glaring at him like he was the plague. Gossip was a powerful thing.

Around mid- afternoon, on the sixth day, he found out that all the houses had finally been rebuilt, and people were starting to move back in now. He also found out that his friends had been rebuilding their treehouse behind his back.

"Guys, really? I could have helped you!" he had protested, when they showed him their rebuilt home.

"It was a surprise." Olivia smiled. His friends had been speaking slowly lately. "Besides, we ex-pan-ded so we could fit Petra. And we have a room for when Lukas de-sides he wants to join us az well."

"But I thought he was friends with the Ocelots." Jesse frowned.

"Blaze Rodz now." Axel corrected. "In the time dat Lukas has been gone, Aiy- den's taken over th-air group."

"Oh."

"Yeah, it suckz to be Lukas." Axel wrinkled his nose. "Aiden and his goons are jerks."

"You can say that again."

It felt so good to be back in a treehouse, with it's warm- coloured walls, and the faint smell of nature. There were a few minor changes, though. There were now glass on the windows, so it wouldn't be as cold in the winter than previous years. There was also another ladder that added another level to the treehouse, where everyone's sleeping spaces would be. The first floor would be common living space, where the furnaces, crafting tables, public chests, piles of pillows (for some reason, Petra insisted they add those), and balcony was.

It felt so homey, so normal, and so relaxing that if Jesse closed his eyes, he could almost pretend that the whole Witherstorm fiasco never happened, and that it was nighttime, and he was stargazing with Reuben or something quiet like that. Yes, that was why it was so silent.

Then he would open his eyes and be blinded with daylight, and he would find no one beside him. Then he would remember everything that had happened. That it was all real. That he was deaf, and Reuben would never come back.

Right after dinner, they went to see the finished memorial building. It was beautiful. Tall quartz pillars reached sky high, gleaming in the setting sun. The floor was smooth and white, and Jesse could see the sky's reflection in it (it had no roof yet). There were already pedestals set up, and someone from the Order must have gone back to the Far Lands, because all their treasures were here, with the Ender Dragon egg at the front.

"So, wut do yoo fink?" Axel asked him.

"It's really cool."

"Coolbeans."

"Coolness."

"Cooleo."

For the first time in a long time, Jesse let out a laugh. When was the last time he had laughed so freely like this? With everything that had been going on recently, it seemed like no one would ever smile again. Especially since 90% of his laughter came from listening to other people laugh. You know, laughter is infectious.

If you can hear it, that is.

The way his "hearing" worked now was a little strange. Whenever he was reading someone, his mind would automatically insert the person's voice to go with what he was reading (He tried to, at least). If someone he'd never heard speak before tried to talking to him, it would switch to his own voice, even if the person was a girl.

But as the days wore on, his friends' voices started becoming distorted, as he started to forget what they sounded like. They started sounding more like him. Was that his voice? What did he sound like again? Wasn't Lukas' voice a little higher?

He wondered how long it would take for him to forget all of their voices.

Finally, the seventh day came.

On the morning of the celebration, he and friends (Lukas wasn't there, strangely) got dressed in their armour, and tried to look as hero- ish as possible. Jesse carefully tucked Reuben's remains into his inventory. Then they made their way (the Order minus Soren joining them on route) to Reuben's grave.

Nobody said anything (if anyone did, he didn't hear it) as he carefully placed Reuben's remains in a chest, which was a block deep in the ground, surrounded by flowers and oak saplings. The gravestone itself was more of a grave- _wall_ , made of granite, diorite, and andesite, polished to perfection. Hanging on it was a coloured banner of Reuben's face, determined as the day he died. A sign with his name hung under that.

He closed the chest and he felt the latch click with an air of finality. This was it. Reuben was gone.

For a moment, his hand just rested on the cold lid of the chest, as if he held it there long enough, he would feel some sort of pulse, or heartbeat, that would tell him that this was a just a really sick and twisted dream and that Reuben was there somewhere. But the longer he waited, the colder his palm got, just like when he was soaking wet and lying on the ground with a dying friend.

Jesse sighed, got up, and covered the chest with dirt. He had to move on. That's what Reuben would have wanted.

He and his friends turned around to be greeted by a crowd, who were clapping and cheering, huge smiles on their faces, and he couldn't help but smile too. Reuben had died a hero. Reuben had saved all these smiling people.

Reuben had saved him, too.

They walked along a path that lead to some sort of podium/ stage, where several unlit beacons stood. They climbed up some steps and stood together, facing the crowd as they seemed to cheer some more. He'd always dreamed of not being a loser. He'd never thought he'd have a crowd cheering for him and his friends, though. This was surreal.

He spotted Lukas at the front of the crowd, and when Jesse made eye contact with him, he smiled and waved. Jesse smiled and waved back, and then frowned. Why wasn't Lukas up here with them? He'd done as much as the rest of them. Heck, if Lukas wasn't there, Jesse would never had been able to figure out the puzzles back at Ivor's lab!

Jesse made the _come here!_ motion with his hand (the right one was still bandaged), raising one eyebrow. _Why aren't you here?_

Lukas shrugged, smiling nervously. _Stage fright,_ he mouthed slowly. _I don't like being on stage._

Jesse rolled his eyes to that. He deserved recognition for the part he played in everything.

He smirked mischievously, skipped down the steps of the stage, grabbed Lukas' wrist, ignored the blonde's protests, and dragged him up to the stage with them, much to everyone's amusement. Petra reached over to give Lukas a friendly slap on the back. Lukas slapped her right back, although it was rather weak.

This was what Jesse wanted. All his friends, alive, together, and happy. Reuben's death was not in vain.

Gabriel stepped forward and began speaking, though Jesse had no idea what he was saying, as he could only see the back of his head. His smile immediately faded away. He was missing out, probably on something important, too.

Suddenly, two hands were on each of his shoulders as Axel lifted him up and switched places with him. Axel's spot was just about next to Gabriel, so while Jesse couldn't lip read everything, he could catch little bits and pieces.

"...thing about t.e Order." Gabriel was saying. He glanced at Ivor, and Jesse immediately knew what was going on. Gabriel meant to reveal their secret, guarded for years. Magnus and Ellegaard looked grim, but nodded at Gabriel anyways. They were done with secrets as well.

"We.. were liars." Gabriel sighed. Jesse glanced at the audience to see their reactions. One woman gasped. One particularly sour- looking guy drew his sword.

"We used the Block." Gabriel continued. "We were fools, and we wunted to be fay-muss (famous?), and dat lead to lies. And we," he turned to the rest of the Order, who had somber expressions on their faces, "have de-side-ed to end these lies, and begin a-gen. Move on. Star. fresh."

The crowd was no longer looking so sad or angry. Well, except for the sour- looking guy. He was still scowling. At least his sword has been sheathed.

"Starting wif our new her-rows (heroes?)!" Gabriel grinned, and the crowd cheered, all eyes on them now. Petra waved. Axel flexed his arms and grinned. Olivia clapped with the crowd, also grinning. Lukas settled for smiling, blushing under all the attention.

Jesse looked at them all, and thought: _Wow. we've made it. We're alive. And we're all happy._ Being deaf was totally a fair trade, if this was what he got in return. Happy friends, and a new future. Not that his old life was _bad_ , it's just that… he was surviving, and losing all the time. Now he was _living,_ and he actually felt like he had a definite purpose.

Somebody nudged him in the ribs. It was Petra. Her grin, if possible, stretched wider, as she gestured to where Gabriel was standing. He was looking at Jesse expectantly.

"You gotta make a speech." she said slowly.

"W- what?" Jesse spluttered. "Like, a full on hero speech, saving the world, bla -dee blah blah speech?"

Petra didn't answer, just laughed. She pushed him forward, and Gabriel stepped aside. He was suddenly facing a couple hundred people, most of which were eagerly looking up at him, maybe even looking up _to_ him.

Jesse whirled around to glare at his friends, who, by the way, were all giggling at his predicament. He stuck his tongue out childishly. Then he turned back to the audience.

"Alright." he said. Almost instantly, everyone started cheering. He caught a few people cheering _his name._ "Um.. thank you, thank you… So… some of you probably think I'm up here because I saved the world or something.

And.. I guess I did? I mean, I understand why you think so. Even if I can't hear it," and some people's smiles faded a little at this remark, "I know people have been gossiping about what happened a week ago. Yes, I set off the Formidibomb, and that's how I was deafened in the first place. Yes, I was the one that destroyed the Command Block in the end. But I couldn't have done it myself. I doubt anyone here could've."

He turned around and pointed to Lukas, who looked mildly surprised at being pointed at. "Lukas helped me solve the puzzles in Ivor's Lab. Without him, it would have taken a very long time to solve, and more of the world would have been destroyed in that lost time. He also could have left us at any time during our journey, seein as he wasn't really our friend back then, but he didn't."

Then he pointed at Olivia. "Olivia was the one who came up with the idea of using a launcher to get me to the Witherstorm in the first place. The rest of us might have come up with something eventually, but she was quick and did most of the building anyways. I'm hopeless with redstone."

He waved a hand at Petra. "Petra was sick most of the time, but she kept going, fighting with us, even though she was dying. She stayed behind in the Overworld while the rest of us ran to safety in the Nether" he laughed, "or as safe as you can be in the Nether, anyways. She also asked me if I was okay, which I know sounds like a small thing, but it's amazing how she asked if _I_ was okay when she herself was dying. So, kudos to her."

Petra mouthed "thank you" to him. Jesse grinned back, then pointed to Axel.

"Axel went to Boomtown with me. And no offense to you Boomtowners in the crowd, but it was chaos in there. Yet Axel distracted the griefers so I could get to Magnus. And again, no offense to you griefers, but you guys are scary, and I'm not sure if I could've fought off so many of you."

A griefer (he recognized her as Nohr, the blue- haired girl) pumped her fist in the air and let out what looked like a woop.

"And finally, Reuben." Jesse said. The happiness levels dropped a couple of notches. "He may seemed like just a pig to most of you, but to me, he was so much more. He was my first and best friend. Not even my friends know this, " he looked at his friends, "but Reuben was the one that led me here. Where I made my first friends. Which then lead to everything I have today. So I really have him to thank for everything.

But there's more. He was with me when I was inside the Witherstorm. It was crazy in there; tractor beams and tentacles were everywhere, and the Witherstorm was upside- down, meaning the Command Block was above me. I climbed up the side to get to the Block, but a tentacle grabbed me, and I dropped the sword. But Reuben climbed up to give it to me."

The crowd watched him with wide eyes as he told Reuben's story. Most of them thought of pigs as nothing more than food. Now they were hearing otherwise.

"So.. yeah. Without Reuben, I couldn't have done this. Without Reuben, we probably wouldn't be standing here." he said. He pumped a fist in the air. "FOR REUBEN!"

He didn't read what the crowd said, but chances are it was what he said. A sea of fists rose up. For Reuben.

 _Thank you, Reuben._

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Gabriel give Ivor a nod. Ivor stepped forward to face Jesse head on.

"Jesse." he said slowly. In his hand, he held a nether star, yet it wasn't a nether star. It was dark purple around the edges, and faded to a light purple in the middle. A single glowing gem was in the middle. It radiated power.

"This is t.e nether star that dropped when the Withr-storm was de-feet-ted." Ivor explained. He pointed to the several unlit beacons behind them. "Would you like to do t.e honours?"

"Sure." Jesse said. Ivor handed him the "Withered Nether Star", and Jesse made his way up the stairs that lead to the beacons. There was a single blue glass block that was raised higher than the rest of the glass, so he assumed that was where the star would go. He placed it in the center and stepped back. The whole crowd seemed to hold their breath in anticipation.

The star began to spin faster and faster and faster, and then several beams of light shot up into the sky, sort of like day fireworks. It was beautiful. And Jesse realized that they were in the colours of the Order.

After a few more seconds of staring at the pretty lights, Jesse turned back to the crowd just in time to catch what Gabriel was saying.

"..am now pleased to intro-dooce to yoo…" Gabriel held up the Order's amulet for Jesse to take. He held it carefully. It was warm to the touch. All the coloured rods were glowing brightly.

"The new Order of the Stone!" Gabriel shouted to the crowd. Jesse's jaw dropped.

The crowd erupted in cheering, and Jesse was swept off his feet as Axel grabbed him in a teddy bear (actually, Axel- bear) hug and swung him around in joy. Both of them were laughing. He was then put down to stand with everyone else, who had huge grins on their faces. Olivia also hugged him. Petra gave him another slap on the back. Lukas fistbumped him. Everyone was smiling. Everyone was happy.

And Jesse felt great.

Thank you, Reuben.

* * *

 _And so it was that a new Order of the Stone was born. One whose adventures were only just beginning._

 _This chapter of their lives may be over.. But when one story ends…_

 _Another one is bound to begin._

 **-o.0.o-**

 **Word count (approx.): 6499**

 **So, episode 4 is finally over! Took me long enough :/**

 **You know, I just realized: episode 4 came out on December 22nd, 2015. 3 days before Christmas. That means, if you take into account the days it took for the gang to travel to the Far Lands, Reuben could have died on Christmas day. I spent a good 5 minutes thinking about how horrible that would feel..**

 **Okay, enough depressing stuff. Episode 4 is over, and now I can start writing for episode 5! Oh, I've got so many goodies for you guys in this episode! Especially for the whole Aiden thing. This chapter may seem like a really long filler chapter, but there's many hidden thingamabobbers hidden in here :))**

 **Guess who's the sour- looking guy?**


	10. Bad Luck

**Decibels chpt.10:** **Bad Luck**

 **EYYYY episode 5 is here! EYYYYYYYY! (I'm a little late compared to all the other fanfics here, but whatever :))) (Oh look, triple chins!)**

 **Guest replies:**

 **MiloTheRebel2:** **You're welcome!**

 **Silver:** **Huh.. Oh well. But even if Reuben didn't die on Christmas day, they definitely didn't celebrate it together(and since the game was made in America, let's assume they celebrate it). Or, Reuben died right in the beginning of the year, which is also kind of sad, because I like to think that Jesse and Reuben would watch the fireworks together on New Year's Day or something.**

 **Guest #1:** **It seems like everyone got the feels now, doesn't it?**

 **Guest #2:** **When remembering stuff, yes, though the farther back the memory, the less likely he'll remember what everything sounded like. As for dreaming, he can't really control when he can hear. Go check chapter 4, he dreams in it.**

 **A Person:** **Thanks! And good guess, but I can't tell you if you're right yet :))**

 **NOTE:** **So whenever I upload a doc to the document manager, it keeps deleting random incomplete words (the ones with dots in them) in the final doc. Whenever I try to type them back in, they almost never save. So I'm trying out hyphens now. Tell me what you think in the reviews.**

 **Disclaimer:** **Yes, I wrote this myself. No, MCSM is not mine. I'm just playing in its sandbox.**

 **-o.0.o-**

He was hiding behind a boulder, blending in with it's shadow. The light from the moon made everything else glow in a soft silvery light. The wind was cool and pleasant.

He peeked over the edge of the rock, at the horde of miscellaneous mobs wandering around. They were in an isolated, unexplored part of the Great Forests, so no one was there to kill off the mobs that spawned in the shade. It was like a mob farm here, without anyone to harvest them.

Beyond the mobs stood a temple. Not an old, ruined temple, an actual temple. It wasn't as grand as the Memorial Hall in the town, but it looked pretty good for some random building in the middle of a random jungle. It was made of polished stone, complimented by spruce stairs, fences, and slabs. Yep, this was the place they were looking for.

Jesse looked to his right, where Petra was crouching in the branches of a tree, also hidden in shadow. They made eye contact.

Petra pointed at him, then made a thumbs up. _You ready?_

He nodded, then turned to the left, where Olivia was crouched behind a tree, some redstone in her hand. He did a thumbs up, then flipped it to a down. _You ready?_

She nodded, then proceeded to do the same actions to Axel, wherever he was hiding. He couldn't see him. After a second, she turned back to Jesse and nodded. _Ready._

Jesse nodded back, then held up three fingers. He began counting down. _Three… two… one!_

He pushed himself off the boulder and charged at the mobs, diamond sword raised. Petra lept out of the tree, landed in a crouch, then began beating some zombies to a pulp. Axel charged in with nothing but his fists, and slugged a creeper in the face before it could explode, disappearing in a puff of smoke. Olivia was placing down dispensers with incredible speed.

He swiped at the first two or three zombies coming towards him, and they all fell back, disintegrating on the spot. He repeated the process for any other mobs that approached him.

Wow, diamond swords were awesome!

He saw something white out of the corner of his eyes, and whirled around just as a skeleton took a shot at him. He ducked. Petra leaped out of nowhere, cutting it down. Jesse took care of the second skeleton. He really had to remember to check behind him once in awhile. Without his hearing, it was harder for him to know when something was coming from behind.

"Thanks!" Jesse yelled to her. She nodded and moved on, yelling what looked like a battle cry. Petra loved battle cries, for some reason. He should make one sometime.

Over to the right, Axel had two zombies locked in a chokehold. Axel squeezed them, and they disappeared in a puff of smoke. He let out a woop and continued, swinging around his beefy arms and knocking mobs sky high.

And over to the left, Olivia attached a button to a row of dispensers and gave it a push. A wave of arrows shot out, bringing down anything in it's way. Random mob drops were scattered everywhere.

"You guyz w-rk way too hard for this." she smirked, leaning against the dispensers proudly. She did a hair flip. Jesse rolled his eyes at her. Ever since learning a bunch of new tricks from Ellegaard, she'd been trying to one- up them with some redstone contraption. Which nobody minded, because redstone was awesome.

With all the mobs cleared away, they stood together in the small clearing, putting away their swords. Out of the corner of his eyes, Jesser saw Axel stuff some gunpowder in his pockets. Probably to craft some TNT with Magnus later. What was the TNT for? No one knew.

"Soo.. are we doing dis?" Olivia asked.

"Hell yes!" Petra shouted. She charged towards the temple, and everybody else followed her gladly (Axel yelling something unreadable). They entered a stone room, with a circular indent in the middle of the floor. Three bars of lava glowed through some glass, and the only thing keeping it from flowing all over the place were pistons, which were blocking some sort of gutter thing that lead to the slight dip in the floor. Which probably did something important.

"I don't see any tre-sure." Petra frowned, her hands on her hips. Axel nodded in agreement.

"C'mon guys, you know the treasure's never out in the open." Jesse said. "It isn't really treasure if it's just sitting there, you know? You actually have to find it if you want it."

"Always t-e wise one, Jesse." Axel joked. Jesse shrugged.

"Let's just look around. I'm pretty sure the lava has something to do with the floor." He pointed at the dip in the floor.

His friends nodded, spreading out and examining the lava, the floor, the pistons and levers. It was a rather plain room, to be honest, compared to the fancy exterior. Which meant all of the goodies were downstairs.

Jesse examined one of the lava chutes. There was a lever on the wall next to him, which probably connected to the pistons, which would release the lava. With nothing better to do, he flipped it.

The pistons contracted, and the lava flowed down and into the floor. Across the room, Olivia, who had already flipped a switch, let out what looked like a "Hey!" as her lava chutes shut off. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"So, it's like dat puzzle ba-k in the Order's Temple." Petra said, flipping the lever she was standing next to, which was in the middle of the other two. It stayed open for about a second, then closed up again.

"Yup." Olivia said, popping the "p". "It's one-of thoze puzzles."

Jesse flipped his lever again, which closed off the lava. "Okay, let's start this from the beginning…"

A crap- ton of lever switching later (and Jesse nearly toasting himself), Petra flipped her switch one final time. Everyone waited with baited breath as the lava flowed into the chute and into the floor.

"Hear anything, gu- aaannd never mind, the floor is opening up like a door." he said, watching as the dip in the floor retracted into the rest of the floor, revealing a narrow strip of stairs leading down into some sort of basement. As the group approached the hole, he could see vines growing down.

Axel said something about disappointment (Why was he disappointed? The entrance was cool!), shrugged, and began walking down the stairs, everyone following behind in a single file line. As he passed a stream of lava, he thought: _Wait, the stairs are made of wood. And we're next to lava._ But then he shrugged. _The lava isn't even touching the stairs. As long as no more streams come out, we'll be fine._

The others were discussing something, and from what he could read, it was about what they would find at the bottom. If Ivor wanted them to go get it, it must've been something important. He seemed excited when he was talking to them earlier that day. Maybe it was some rare treasure thing he wanted to research? Ivor was always holed up in the town library these days.

"Hey look!" Petra exclaimed, pointing to a group of chests over to the left (When did they reach the bottom?). "Tre-ure!"

"Let's see wut weave (We've? Man, he hated homophones) got!" Olivia clapped her hands together, knelt down next to a random chest, and opened it up. Everyone else followed suit.

Jesse opened his chest, sneezed as he waved away the dust, and peered inside. A cake, which had probably graduated to inedible decades ago. He wrinkled his nose and shoved it aside, picking up the next item, a dusty pumpkin, which would probably make him sneeze to death before the endermen killed him.. And a glowing flint and steel, nothing strang- wait, a _glowing_ flint and steel?

He picked it up, turning it over in his hands. It was warm to the touch, which was strange, because this place obviously hadn't been touched in years. It also hummed with power, the same way the super- sword had. This was something powerful.

"... did you find?" Olivia asked, peeking over his shoulder. Jesse stood up, shrugging.

"A glowing flint and steel, I guess. It feels kinda funny. You think there might be an enchantment on it?" he asked, now addressing everyone as Petra and Axel approached.

Olivia shook her head, pigtails bobbing. "Nope. I mean, I've seen pee-pull put un-bray-king (Unbraking? Unbreaking?) on them, but dat's no unbreaking."

"You could give it a flick." Petra suggested. Jesse shrugged again and turned back to the flint and steel.

"Okay, super flint and steel, do your thing." he said, bringing them together. They grew warmer. He struck the steel against the flint, and a small but bright burst of light was produced, leaving the group blinking. That was no regular flint and steel. Nope. Definitely not normal. No wonder Ivor was so excited.

"Never seen dat happen wif flint and steeee- oh no." Axel trailed off as he turned around, only to face a crap ton of looked around. They were completely surrounded. They must have been attracted by the bright blue light of the strange flint and steel.

They tried to run away, before the zombies could really surround them, but it was useless. There were way too many of them.

"Order of the Stone, looks like these zombies have a death wish." Jesse announced, putting away the flint and steel and drawing his sword. They stood back to back, eyeing the mobs. Just zombies. A crap- ton of zombies. Nothing they couldn't handle.

Olivia, Axel, and Petra were discussing something, probably a battle plan, while Jesse stood there and waited, swinging his sword out in a wide arc to ward off any approaching zombies. They really needed a way for him to be able to communicate in a fight, and the hand signals from earlier didn't count, as he obviously couldn't do those while holding a sword. Dammit!

Axel tapped him on the shoulder, waving some TNT in one hand, and a regular flint and steel in the other. "Griefer grab!" he mouthed. Or yelled. He could never tell. Anyways, Griefer grab. He loved the griefer grab. Mainly because he loved to do flips.

Axel lit the TNT, handed it to Jesse quickly, and put his arms together in front of him, as if he were about to volley a volleyball. Jesse jumped, planted his feet firmly on Axel's hands, and was launched over Axel's head and over a big clump of zombies. Jesse dropped the TNT on their heads, rolled to a stop, and turned around just in time to see the zombies turn into dust.

Yeap. He loved that move.

He followed his friends up the stairs, sword back in his hand. The wooden stairs seemed more narrow than ever, and he had a hard time watching where the mobs were coming from _and_ where to put his feet. They seemed to be coming out of some side doors along the stairs. Why there were side doors, he'd never know.

The group ground to a halt as an arrow hit the stairs in front of Petra (who was in the lead). They looked up as several skeletons took aim at them, but before they could fire, a stream of lava dropped from seemingly nowhere and burned them. The lava stream continued to fall, and hit some of the _wooden_ stairs below. It began to burn.

"We gotta get out of here now!" he yelled, though unnecessarily, as everyone was already running for their lives. Streams of lava were "raining" everywhere, and wherever they hit, the stairs disintegrated, forcing them to leap and duck to avoid being burned. Sometimes he would have to leap over a section of stairs that were already burnt away. He was sweating, and the lava wasn't helping.

"WAA-!" Jesse's arms did the "windmill" motion as the stairs in front of him was taken down by lava, and he almost didn't stop in time. Being the last one, he was now cut off from his friends, who had stopped at his yelp of surprise. Small fires were slowly creeping up behind Jesse, and it wouldn't be long before the stairs burned down, with him on them. That would be bad.

HIs left hand brushed against the wall, which did not feel like a regular wall. It was covered in vines, which went all the way to the top of the hole, and didn't seem in danger of burning down anytime soon. Jesse briefly thought back to Ivor's maze, and the random horde of zombies that had appeared out of nowhere, and how they had climbed some vines to escape. That could work...

"Quick! Climb the vines!" he shouted (or at least he thought he shouted). He leaped, grabbing the scratchy vines right before the spreading fire burned away the space he was just standing in. He spared a moment to gape at how close that was, before clambering up the wall after his friends.

For about two seconds, the plan was working. Then, cave spiders began crawling out of the side tunnel above them, and as soon as their beady red eyes spotted the tasty humans on their wall, they began crawling towards them.

Great. How very convenient. The world just _loved_ messing around with their luck, didn't it?

With one hand gripping the vines, he drew his sword with the other hand, careful not to cut down the vines. As soon as the first spider was within a sword's swing, he whacked it away like a baseball, sending it flying over his shoulder and down into whatever was left of the basement. Easy stuff.

He repeated this twice more, but as soon as the third spider went flying, he mentally groaned. The entrance was closing rapidly, and there was no way they could all crawl through in time. First zombies, then burning stairs, then spiders, and now this? Jesse was sure someone was messing around with their luck.

As a last attempt at salvaging whatever was left of their luck, he cocked his arm back, and threw his sword at the rapidly shrinking exit. The stone clamped down on either end of the sword, stopping it from continuing. In short, the exit wasn't closing anymore.

Huh. So maybe their luck wasn't _that_ bad.

They climbed out of the Hole of Death, grinning at each other as they stood up. They had made it out alive, which meant they hadn't died, which meant that the mission was a success. And success was something that warranted a smile.

Jesse knelt down to retrieve his sword, still grinning, when the sight of a dozen spiders crawling towards them slapped the grin right off his face. He cursed, yanking on the sword hard as he tried to dislodge it from between the stone, before the spiders could get through. Man, he should really stop calling a mission a success before they were actually out of danger.

With a final yank, the sword was pulled free, and the stone slammed shut, crushing one of the spiders into a puff of smoke. Axel pulled him to his feet (the stones had shook the ground hard enough for him to fall), still grinning, and they exited the temple.

"That wuz a-may-zing!" Axel exclaimed, his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. "Woo!"

"Yeah." Petra agreed, sheathing her sword. "Kil-ing a bunch o. mon-ters, get-ing sweet tre-sure…"

"Like dat flint an- steel fing!" Axel turned to Jesse, gesturing to the glowing blue flint and steel (which he had taken out again). "You gotta try it agen (again?)!"

"I'd like to see it again." Olivia said, looking excited. She loved discovering new things.

"Alright, then." Jesse said, turning to a tree stump. He got the flint and steel ready in his hands. "Let's see what's so special about this." Something had to be special about it. Why else would Ivor ask them to go to some mysterious temple in the middle of the forest?

He struck the steel against the flint, and stepped back as a bright blue flame, at least three blocks tall, sprang to life on the tree stump, instantly burning it to ashes. He could still feel the heat on his face from that.

"Wow!" Axel grinned. "Dat was cool!"

Suddenly, his friends' heads whipped to the left, as if they heard something, so Jesse turned too, only to see a very familiar figure approaching, wearing a smug smile and a leather jacket. His light green eyes were narrowed in something that looked like disgust.

"Well, look who it is. Aiden an- the pus-ycats." Petra sneered, her right hand tightening into a fist. Jesse looked around, and saw that Maya and Gill were here too. Why were they here? What did they want now?

"Ohh, such a nasty tung (tong? Tongue? Probably the latter, since nobody here had a tong)." Aiden sneered right back. "The Order isn't az purfect az we fought." _The Order isn't as perfect as we thought._ Dammit, Aiden. Always looking for new ways to insult Jesse and his friends.

"So.. what are you Ocelots doing here anyways?" Jesse asked, crossing his arms. The last time he talked with Aiden, Jesse ended up crying. He was determined not to cry in front of Aiden again.

Aiden's face melted into a disgusted sneer, saying something so fast that Jesse doubted that even his hearing friends could catch it. Aiden was making fun of his deafness again, the stupid prick.

"Pardon me?" Jesse asked, hoping his voice was calm.

Aiden rolled his eyes in such a way that Jesse was sure it was meant to be seen. "The 'Ocelots'" Aiden said, so painfully slowly that Jesse knew that Aiden was still making fun of him, "was Lukas' gang. We ditched that name, just like we ditched him." he smirked, staring straight into Jesse's eyes, daring him to ask "Pardon?" again.

"Yeah, we rebranded!" Maya added, still painfully slowly. Axel's nostrils flared. Maya turned around to show off the back of her leather jacket, revealing the crossed blaze rods ironed into them. She turned back around to face Jesse. "We're the 'Blaze Rods' now." She flipped her hair.

"Wow, what a cool name." Jesse said dully, his face blank. "Is that spelled with a 'z' or an 's'?"

"Not like it'd matter to _you._ " Aiden spat, STILL speaking painfully slowly. A part of Jesse sarcastically thanked Aiden for even remembering to speak slowly for him. So kind of him to do so. Really. SO kind. Note the sarcasm.

"Anyways." Aiden said (still slowly). "You probably think that thing" he gestured to the flint and steel in Jesse's hands, "makes you _soo_ special. Classic Jesse." Aiden's face then turned into one of anger. "You take ALL the best stuff and never give anyone else a chance. That should've been OURS." he huffed, pointing a finger at his own chest.

All Jesse could do was raise an eyebrow. "Really? What makes you, who -may I add- regularly makes fun of the people that saved your life, have the right to take this flint and steel from the people who got here through genuine hard work, instead of being lazy and following someone, like I think the three of you did?"

At Aiden's rather disgusted face (as if he'd been forced to swallow a whole lemon), Jesse knew he was correct. "I thought so."

Aiden's face grew even more sour (as if he choked on the lemon). He drew his sword, the other two Ocel- sorry, _Blaze Rods_ following, not as teammates (like the Order), but like servants, told to draw their swords because their master was doing it too.

"Hand over the flint and steel, Jesse." Aiden snarled, speaking normally this time, but Jesse could read what he said easily. Even if he didn't read it, Aiden's body language and facial expression said it all. He wanted the treasure. He wanted to outshine Jesse and his friends, just like he had for years.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Jesse could see his friends draw out their weapons too, aiming them at the Blaze Rods' faces. Jesse let them do so. Aiden kind of deserved it. And since Jesse was usually a forgiving guy, that was speaking volumes against Aiden.

At seeing Jesse standing there, the only one without a sword (or a bow, in Olivia's case, and fists in Axel's) out, he lowered his sword, sneering.

"Some hero you are, Jesse." he spat. There were a few seconds where no one spoke, just stared at the opposite "team" with as much disdain as possible, until Aiden sheathed his sword, Gill and Maya doing the same.

"Fine." he said, stepping back a bit. "What hope do we have when 'heroes'" Aiden made air noted that he had reverted back to speaking slowly, like he wanted Jesse to "hear" what he was saying, "like _you_ are throwing your weight around like this? It's not always gonna be this way, though."

"Is that a threat I'm reading?" Jesse asked, eyes narrowing.

Aiden ignored him and turned, walking away, Maya following him. Gill paused, then turned to Jesse and his friends and yelled "BLAZE RODS!", throwing his hands in the air for good measure. Jesse wasn't sure if that was supposed to be funny, or if Gill was actually off his rocker.

Aiden turned around and gave Gill a shove. "I told you to shuddup!" he snapped.

"Sorry." Gill apologized. They walked away, Aiden pausing one last time to turn to Jesse, speaking in that annoyingly slow way meant to tease him.

"Look out, Jesse."

Then they were gone.

"What was dat?" Petra frowned, sheathing her sword.

"Yeah, I don't rem-mber him be-ng _that_ angry before." Olivia added.

"Well, we _were_ his verbal punching bags in the past." Jesse said. "Us being the Order of the Stone must really not sit well with him."

"That, and somfing else." Petra said. "He seems diff-rent. Angrier. He haz a purpose dis time." _He has a purpose this time._

What was Aiden's purpose? He never had a reason to bully them in the past, but suddenly, he now did. What was it?

Yup. Someone was messing around with the Order's luck.

 **-o.0.o-**

 **Approx. word count: 3751**

 **Yeah. So I promised to update at least once before Christmas, and I failed that completely. I'm sorry about that, but the beginning of this chapter was really hard for me to write, seeing as Jesse is now deaf and I have to make it interesting to read. Man, the importance of sound is suddenly a lot bigger now.**

 **If I don't get a chance to before (which I probably won't): Happy New Year to you all!**

 **P.S Good luck America.**


	11. Fans and Pricks and Portals, Oh My!

**Decibels chpt.11:** **Fans and Pricks and Portals, Oh My!**

 **Happy New Year again, readers! Wow, when I reread chapter 10, I realized how douchy Aiden was. Eh, that's what I needed for the story anyways :))**

 **Disclaimer:** **If I owned MCSM, this story wouldn't exist. This account probably wouldn't exist, either.**

 **-o.0.o-**

By the time the town's gates came into view, the sun had risen, and there were no more mobs to fight off. The birds were probably chirping happily. Gee, that was a long walk. Jesse couldn't wait to sit down somewhere. Preferably on a bed.

"Wow, I'm final-y starting to re-ognize stuff again. Feels good to a-most be home." Axel said.

"Cheers to dat, friend." Petra agreed.

"I just can't shayke (shake) wut Aiden was saying about us back t-ere." Olivia frowned, running a hand through her hair. "We do get a lot of tre-sure. And for what? We just put it in hour (our? Did he mention that he hated homophones?) temple."

"Well, that is true." Jesse added, "but that still doesn't give him the right to take away something we risked our lives for."

Olivia nodded, but she still looked doubtful. She kept walking.

Jesse let her words sink in a little. _Why_ did they go out to get treasure so much? What a good question.

The group reached the gates, just in time for the sun to hit the daylight sensors and open the gates for the day. They walked down the gravel path, looking around at all the buildings there. The buildings were nothing special, but there was just something about seeing those cozy looking homes that made everyone feel good. And at this time of day, the streets weren't crowded yet, which made him feel calm.

The magic of home. Man, Jesse loved home.

Their small moment of peace was interrupted, however, when they were spotted by some townspeople.

"Look! They-re back!" a man exclaimed excitedly, jumping up and down like a fanboy, pointing at them. "They're back!"

His lady friend made a flappy hand motion, a wide grin splitting her face. "Run! Tell ev-rywun dat our heroes have returned!" she squealed. The man ran away, and the lady friend kept standing there, grinning widely and trembling with barely contained fangirl-ness.

Jesse braced himself.

Within moments, the street was filled with screaming fans, all grinning like crazy, some people even shoving their friends out of the way to get a glimpse of their heroes. They were so loud, Jesse could feel their shouts vibrating in his ears. He managed a smile, though, and the crowd went absolutely wild. Someone in the back was riding on their friend's shoulders, and was waving wildly.

After a minute or two of pure cheering, the crowd finally split into two, letting the Order through. They walked, people cheering as they passed by. It was like the whole town was on a sugar high or something.

The lady from the beginning was suddenly in Jesse's face, still grinning like mad.

"Welcome baaaccckk!" she squealed, holding up a hand for him to high five. Jesse gave her a high five. As the group kept walking, he saw her say something to her friend, then slump to the floor in a faint. Were they really so special that people _fainted_ when they met them? He'd never thought that would happen in a million years.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned to find Olivia pointing off to the side, to... what is that?!

They walked up to the… stone skull tower thing, looking up at the very familiar figure standing in one of the skull's eye sockets, scowling.

"Jesse! You're here!" Ivor shouted slowly. "Don't listen to what these fools tell you!"

"It's not like I can actually listen to them." Jesse yelled back, though not unkindly. He turned to the closest townsperson, who was scowling harder than Ivor, her hands on her hips. "So, what's the problem?"

"This house is a mon-tr-sity (monster city? Monstrosity?)!" the woman snapped, jabbing a finger at the house. "It'z a fire hazard!"

"And your face is a ugly hazard!" Ivor yelled. Jesse whistled mentally. Ivor sure knew how to roast people. Almost literally, too, since his lava was spilling into the street.

"Woah, okay, calm down!" Jesse yelled to Ivor. "She's right, you know. Your house is a fire hazard. Can't you -I don't know- move it somewhere safer?"

Ivor's scowl deepened. "Move it? WAY more lava is going to spill out if we do that!" he snapped. "Look, Jesse, I want wut every man wants: their own house! With lava pouring out of it! They're" he gestured to the townspeople gathered around his "house", "just jealous of my fabulous house!"

Jesse highly doubted that every man wanted their house to barf lava (he knew he didn't), or that the townspeople were jealous of his skull house.

"Well?" the woman asked, tapping her foot impatiently. "We have to tare (tear? Hare?) it down! We can't le- this mons-rosity stand!" Some of the townspeople shouted their agreements to that.

Jesse turned to his friends. Petra looked neutral, Axel looked like he wanted to build one with Ivor, and Olivia eyed the lava with a hint of skepticism. Jesse was the deciding vote again.

"Well, everyone here in this town has the right to build their own house." Jesse said, addressing the crowd. "So we should treat Ivor's house like any normal house without..uh.. lava pouring out of it. Leave it. I'm sure we can find SOME way to make it safer. Right, Ivor?" Jesse turned to him.

Ivor nodded enthusiastically. "Sure! Sure! Anyfing to keep my house standing!"

"There we go." Jesse turned back to the townspeople. "He's going to make the house safer, and you guys won't be at risk of burning."

The woman huffed, but walked away. The crowd slowly left, some people shooting the skull house suspicious looks, like it was going to attack them or something. Even several months after the Wither incident, people still hated Ivor, even though he hadn't done anything evil since then.

Ivor leaped down from above and yelled something at the backs of the townspeople (which looked a lot like "Long live lava!"). Then he turned to Jesse with a grin.

"So, wut can I do for you today, Jesse?" he asked. "Hav-nt seen you aro-nd in a while."

"Oh yeah." Jesse said stupidly. With all the fans in the streets, he'd completely forgotten about a certain flint and steel. "We found the thing you told us about."

Ivor's entire body seemed to change. He went from "happy to see you" to "I am up to something". He glanced around quickly, as if he was checking for eavesdroppers. Then he spoke. Or mouthed, because Jesse could read it either way, and others wouldn't hear anything. The Order used it a lot to have private conversations with him.

"Meet me in the Treasure Room. Ten minutes. Bring the flint and steel." Ivor mouthed. Then, he smiled and slapped Jesse playfully in the shoulder and spoke out loud. "Great to see you! Let'z do lunch! All bring de carrots!" And then he walked away.

That was weird. What was so important about the flint and steel that Ivor had to call a private meeting to talk about it? What did Ivor want with it?

Petra pat him on the back, watching as Ivor walked away. They turned to Axel and Olivia.

"We sh-uld encase de lava in some glass." Olivia suggested. "To make it a lit-le more safe."

"But not too safe." Axel cut in.

Olivia rolled her eyes. "C'mon, help me col-ect some sand. And when we make it in-o glass, you can make sure it'z de right amo-nt of safe."

Olivia then turned to Jesse and Petra. "Catch up wif you guys later."

"See you later too." Jesse waved to them as they walked away.

"See ya!" Petra shouted. Then she turned to Jesse. "Let's go find Ivor."

 **(Time skip)**

They walked into the Treasure Room. He hadn't been in there very often, but it looked great. It was mostly quartz, with chiseled pillars holding everything up. The treasures from Ivor's Lab had been moved here too, and they stood proudly on shiny gold pedestals. The far wall had a opening in it, letting in the morning sun, and illuminating the Wither Star. And…

"Hey, Lukas!" Jesse called, and said blonde turned around. As soon as he realized who it was, he grinned, hopping down a couple of steps to stand with them.

"Hey guys!" he greeted. "You have some pret-y cool stuff in here."

"Yup." Petra said, popping the "p". "It's been ages. Where were you?"

Lukas shrugged. "Eh, nufing special. Helping to rebilled (rebuild?) and stuff. The Wi-herstorm left a big mess."

Jesse hummed in agreement. "Definitely. It's really good of you to help out like that."

Lukas smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Thanks." He looked around, at all the treasures he was looking at previously. "You guyz have so many tre-sures. You've been busy." Something then caught Lukas' attention as he was looking around. "Oh! And you.. um.. framed him."

Jesse turned to see what he was looking at, and his smile faded slightly. An item frame held Reuben's porkchop (he'd taken it out of the chest later. He didn't like it underground). Under that was a banner with Reuben's face on it. A couple of azure bluets decorated the area.

"Yeah." Jesse said. He missed Reuben.

"How are you doing?" Lukas asked. Jesse wasn't sure if he was asking about Reuben, deafness, or both.

"I haven't really thought about it." Jesse answered honestly. "I've been focused on so many other things. Y'now, learning to read lips and fight without sound and stuff like that."

Lukas nodded. Then he shook his head, frowning. "Anywayz, I wasn't here to bum ev-ryone out. I act-ally came back to tell you guyz about dis weird run- in I had… with Aiden."

Jesse immediately perked up. So Aiden was acting strange with Lukas too?

"Ugh! Hate dat guy!" Petra scowled, crossing her arms. "What'd he do now?"

Lukas turned back to Jesse. "Jesse, whatever you said to him.. It real-y ticked him off."

"How so?" Jesse asked. He wasn't surprised. They always ticked each other off.

"Apparently someone told him about Ivor giving you a tip." Lukas explained slowly. "Some kind of treasure? He really wanted to get to it first."

"HA! Beat him." Petra said smugly.

Jesse allowed himself to grin a bit, before a question entered his mind. "Wait, exactly why would Aiden want the treasure before us? It's not like it's the first time we've gotten anything cool." He gestured to all the treasures on the pedestals.

Lukas shrugged, looking genuinely confused. "I dunno. He's just been so je-lous of you and the Order ever since you saved de world from the Wit-erstorm." Lukas' face changed to something akin to disbelief. "He's convinced HE wuz supposed to be the hero."

Petra held out a hand, as if to interrupt Lukas. "Okay, what now? Aiden thinks he'z supposed to be a hero? Re-lly?"

"Yeah, really?" Jesse asked, raising an eyebrow. "That's kind of ridiculous, even for someone like Aiden."

Lukas shrugged again. He really didn't know what was up with Aiden. "Ever since he took over de Oce- ahem, _Blaze Rods,_ he'z gotten… meaner. Pushing Maya and Gill ar-und."

"What a douche." Petra said, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"Why's he so jealous?" Jesse asked. "And not for the obvious reasons, like us being popular. Like, actually why? This seems really strange."

"He thinks you're a big bully, Jesse." Lukas explained slowly, so he could catch every word. "Looting and keeping all the good stuff to yourself."

"Excuse me?" Jesse asked. "Why would I want to keep everything to myself?"

Lukas shrugged yet again. "I honestly don't know. What'd you find dat got Aiden so prickly, anywayz?" he asked, changing the topic.

"This." Jesse took out the blue flint and steel. Even in daylight, it glowed. "Pretty weird, yeah?"

"Wow." Lukas breathed, stepping forward to take a closer look. "Wut a weird glow."

"I know, right?" Jesse agreed. "I'm supposed to show it to-"

"YOU FOUND IT!" Ivor popped out of nowhere, almost giving Jesse a heart attack, and making him stumble back a few steps. Surprises were a lot worse for him now, since he wouldn't be able to hear anything coming. Imagine silence. And then some bearded guy in your face. Scary, right?

"Ivor, what have I told you about sneaking up on me?!" Jesse gasped, his heart pounding. Petra and Lukas also seemed shaken.

Ivor, being the great guy he was, ignored Jesse's statement, his eyes immediately glued to the flint and steel in Jesse's hands. He babbled something excitedly.

"Pardon me." Jesse interrupted him. Ivor seemed to remember who he was talking to, and managed to compose himself. Slightly. Just a little. He was still quivering with barely- contained excitement.

"That," Ivor pointed to the flint and steel, "is the gre-test find of our time! I-I can't bel-eve you.. you actual-y.." He bounced on the balls of his feet excitedly, rubbing his hands together like a little child waiting for a gift to be unwrapped. Petra raised an eyebrow at his behaviour.

"So, how'd you know where it was?" Jesse asked.

"Endless re-serch into de cracks of rea-ity!" Ivor answered. "The ar-ifacts that bend and shape the rules az we know them!"

"Speak English, please." Petra deadpanned.

"That flint and steel..dat enchan-ment is the work of a very old group of bilders (builders?), so old they existed before de Order of de Stone!" Ivor said, excited to share this information with them.

"Dramatic." Lukas said, eyes wide.

"So, what does the flint and steel do then?" Jesse asked. "What's so special about it? Well, besides the fact that the fire is blue, and it glows…"

"Uhhh" Ivor said dumbly. "I'm not one hun-red percent sure, actual-y. But I su-pect it relatez to the exciting part!" he smiled. If Ivor, of all people, was smiling, it must be _really_ good.

"You see, if deez 'Old Builders' truly ex-sted, and you found their flint and steel… that meanz we're one step closer to finding" He paused for effect, "The Ev-rso-rce!" Ivor pumped a fist in the air. "What a be-utiful sight."

"The Ever- what?" Jesse asked. Man, learning new words were much, much harder now.

"Ev-er-source." Petra repeated slowly.

"Eversource." Jesse said out loud. Petra nodded.

"So what's de Eversource?" Lukas asked Ivor. "Ano-der mag-ical artifact?"

"Yes, in fact!" Ivor exclaimed, still excited. "De Eversource is said to be an ob-ect of incred-ble power pos-essed by the Old Builders. It wuz some sort of tre-sure, or artifact, dat gave them an endless sup-ly of prec-us matereals! Think about it, Jesse," Ivor said, turning to him, "That temple must've been it'z hiding place!"

"Wow. Old Builders?" Petra wondered aloud. "Sounds cool."

"Sooo, how did you know that the flint and steel is related to this 'Eversource' thing?" Jesse asked. "For all we know, the flint and steel is just another cool treasure in some random temple."

Ivor got that mysterious look in his eyes as he spoke. "I've traveled near and far, Jesse, and dat flint and steel is de only proof of the Old Builders I've ever seen. The only one, I tell you!"

"That does seem like a pret-y good bet." Petra said. "Old Builders, anc-ent artifact, myster-es… you know I'm in."

Ivor was suddenly a giant bearded child again. "Ex-ellent!" He jumped up and down. "I'll pack my adven-uring fings im-ediatly!" And then he ran out the door like an overenthusiastic toddler. Jesse watched him go. Who knew Ivor could be so childish?

Petra blinked a couple of times rapidly. "Wait.. HE'S coming?" she asked.

Lukas shrugged again (wow, he must really like shrugging), and prepared to leave. "Well, it looks like you guyz are gonna be bizzy (busy?), so.. uh, I'll just take my leave.."

Petra's hand darted out of nowhere to grab the back of Lukas' jacket. "Nope, you're coming with. "I need a buffer betw-een me and Ivor."

"Let's go then!" Jesse grinned, running out after Ivor. "This Eversource thing sounds cool!"

 **(Time skip)**

The four of them were walking through the forest again, Ivor in the lead, Petra and him in the middle, and Lukas bringing up the rear. It seemed less gloomy in the daytime. Some wild ocelots scattered at the sound of their footsteps (and Ivor's excited babbling).

Petra tapped him on the shoulder. "I can't believe Ivor's coming with us." she mouthed slowly.

"C'mon, he's kind of funny." Jesse said, gesturing to Ivor, who was now swinging his arms enthusiastically, and smiling at everything. "He's a man child."

"I guess." Petra said. She looked doubtful. They watched as Ivor yelled something to the sky. Definitely a man child.

"He just… gets on my nerves sometimes." Petra mouthed. Jesse found himself nodding. Ivor _was_ sometimes a little too dark and mysterious.

A little while later, they finally reached the temple from last night. It looked less epic in the daytime, and the sunlight helped to highlight just how old the temple was. Random stones were crumbling, and moss covered some of the rubble. Weeds were growing out of the cracks. Some of the walls were missing huge sections.

Ivor stopped in front of the temple steps, admiring it. He said something, though his back was turned.

"Is this the right place?" Jesse asked. Ivor turned around, a mysterious smile on his face.

"Oh yes, Jesse. It is very much the right place."

He shrugged, and they followed Ivor into the temple. The inside looked much less mysterious now. He could see the dust swirling in the sunlight. The levers were in the positions they left them in last night. At least he was pretty sure they were.

"Let's look ar-und for anyfind we missed from last night." Petra suggested. Jesse nodded, and they fanned out across the room, examining the walls for secret buttons, or tripwire, or other mysterious things that would indicate a treasure or something. Typical temple stuff.

Nothing really screamed "I'm hiding the Eversource!" to him yet, so he tried flipping one of the levers again. He looked around. Nothing happened. He tried flipping it again, but still nothing happened. Great. They'd broken the temple.

He walked a lap around the room, looking for anything that stood out to him. Petra was examining the entrance to the Hole of Death, Lukas was looking up at one of the lava channels, and Ivor was standing under a hole in the ceiling, bouncing on his heels and grinning like a dork. Wait, hole in the ceiling?

Jesse walked up to the hole and looked up. He couldn't remember if it was there last night, but he could see another ceiling through it, meaning there was another floor to the temple. Vines grew on the side of the wall, making it easily climbable.

Which meant, of course, that he was going to climb it.

"Hey guys, I think there's something up there. I'm going to go check it out." he said out loud. Assuming that Ivor, Petra, and Lukas had heard him, he grasped the vines in his hands and began climbing.

He reached the top, and stepped onto a wooden floor, stirring up the dust that had settled there. Most of the walls were missing, and through the wall to the left, he could see the trail in which they'd come from, as well as where Aiden had confronted them. Across from that, a strange egg- shaped thing stood, outlined with gold blocks. The middle of it was missing, filled with chiseled stone instead of quartz. And in front of that, was an almost- hidden pressure plate.

Jesse looked around for anything that looked like a trap. No dispensers.. No visible pistons… seemed pretty good. He stepped onto the pressure plate, hoping it wouldn't trigger anything on the floor below.

Ivor, Petra, and Lukas must've heard something, because suddenly they were scrambling up the vines to stand with him and watch what was happening. The egg- shaped thing popped out from the wall, and the chiseled stone retracted, leaving the middle section hollow, like a doorway. When nothing else happened, Jesse assumed that was it.

"What's that?" Lukas asked. "Some kind of… portal?"

Now that Lukas had mentioned the word "portal", he could see that the hollowed- out part of the egg made it look like some kind of doorway. Or portal, since there was obviously nothing beyond the doorway.

"Where does it go?" Jesse asked Ivor, seeing as Ivor knew the most about this Old Builder stuff.

Ivor turned to look at Jesse. "I don't know." he answered. "It's not like anyfing I've seen before."

Jesse looked at the portal, then pulled out the flint and steel, which was also nothing like anything they had seen before. If the egg thing was a portal, made by the Old Builders, and the flint and steel was too, then the flint and steel..

"Let's try lighting it with this, then." Jesse said. He stepped towards the portal, flint and steel ready. Ivor jumped up and down in excitement again. Petra and Lukas just looked curious. Jesse was curious too. Where would it go?

He struck the flint against the steel, and was immediately blasted backwards with a flash of blue, landing on his back a few blocks away. He sat up, and saw that everyone else had been blasted back too. He looked down. The flint and steel was gone. He must've lost his grip on it when he lit the portal.

Jesse turned around to pick it up (he didn't see it in front of him), when what he saw made him freeze.

Aiden was getting up, the flint and steel in his hands. He had a sickening grin on his face. Maya and Gill were just climbing up behind him. Dammit!

"Thanks for bringing this back to me, Jesse." Aiden sneered, speaking in that annoyingly slow way again. Jesse got up. "I knew you were good for something."

Jesse glared at the stupid prick. "That flint and steel is more powerful and important than you could ever realize, Aiden. Give it back!"

Aiden laughed in his face, which infuriated Jesse. "Oh, there it is again!" he said slowly (again, Jesse _really_ had to thank him for remembering to speak slower). "Always keeping the power to yourself! _Classic Jesse._ Step aside! We're heading through that portal now!"

"Hell no!" Petra shouted, drawing her sword.

"Aiden, stop it. That's not yours." Lukas said, a deep scowl on his normally kind face.

Aiden seemed to ignore Lukas, and glared at Jesse. "Fine then. If you're not gonna get out of the way willingly… Blaze Rods, clear me a path." he commanded, addressing Maya and Gill. The two grinned, and drew their swords. Everyone else pulled out their swords too (Ivor pulled out a potion of harming).

The Blaze Rods charged at them, and The Order collided with them. Jesse was facing off against Gill. Petra was going against Aiden, Lukas against Maya, and Ivor against no one.

Gill swiped at his head (Holy crap they actually wanted to kill?), and Jesse bent backwards, letting the sword sail over his head. He then sprang up just in time to catch Gill's sword against his own, which was aimed at his face. There was a short battle of strength, with both of them pushing against each other's swords, until Jesse overpowered Gill and pushed him to the floor roughly.

Jesse was about to knock him out (he wasn't going to _kill_ him!) when someone's foot hit him from behind, sending him tumbling to the ground face- first. He looked up to see Aiden (the stupid prick!) running off towards the portal, shouting something. Gill got up, shoved Jesse back down (he was a stupid prick too), and followed after Maya.

Petra pulled Jesse to his feet. "You okay?" she asked as he dusted himself off.

"Fine, just need to pay attention to my surroundings more." Jesse scowled. "We need to stop them from destroying whatever's on the other side!"

"Sh-uldn't we get Axel and Olivia?" Lukas asked.

"There isn't enough time!" Jesse said. He ran through the portal, blue light washing over him. His friends followed.

For a moment, he was weightless, and then he was falling, slamming right into Ivor's back, _knocking him over a ledge._

"WOAH!" Jesse yelped, grabbing onto Ivor's arm before he dropped into..an endless void. He pulled on Ivor's arm as hard as he could, struggling to bring him back up. Ivor was kind of heavy.

After a few seconds of pure panic, Ivor was finally no longer at risk of falling to his death, and both he and Jesse stood on the floating island they were on, panting.

"You… are… surprisingly heavy!" he gasped.

Ivor said something about not being heavy. Jesse wasn't really paying attention; he was trying to calm himself.

Lukas and Petra ran up to them, looking worried. They stood together, looking out at the endless blue around them. Jesse wasn't even sure if it was a sky. Where were they?

"Where are we?" Lukas asked, voicing Jesse's thoughts. "Wut just happened?"

"I sup-ose the portal we just went thr-ugh works just like a Nether Portal w-uld, only I think dis one dropped us into an enti-ly dif-erent world!" Ivor said, still looking around.

"So we're in a dif-erent dimen-ion?" Petra asked. _A different dimension?_

"It w-uld seem so." Ivor replied.

They spread across their small floating island, looking down to see if there was an end to the "Void". Jesse had the feeling that they were incredibly high up.

He stepped to the edge of the island, looking across. Nothing. Then he looked down..

"Hey guys? Do you see that?"

 **-o.0.o-**

 **Word count: 4265**

 **What's this? An early update? WOOOOAAAHH**

 **Anyways, how are you guys?**


	12. Blindfold

**Decibels chpt.12:** **Blindfold**

 **I'M SO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE. I had a lot of stuff happening the past few months and didn't have time to type up the chapter. Don't worry, if it happens again I have a backup oneshot I can post :))**

 **Guest replies:**

 **Guest:** **Thanks! And I only updated early because l was on holiday and had more time. It won't always be early. Like this chapter :/**

 **J.M.M:** **Ok?**

 **Here's the next chapter! (Notch knows you've waited long enough)**

 **Disclaimer:** **No.**

 **-o.0.o-**

" _Hey guys? Do you see that?"_

Out of the corner of his eyes, Jesse could see his friends walk over to the edge, peering over at the… island he was seeing. It looked like there was some sort of city, or town thing on the island, and through the clouds, he could make out some sort of palace, or castle.

Beside him, Ivor jumped up and down like a little kid,rubbing his hands excitedly. "Dat's it! That's where it must be!" he squealed. Or fanboyed. Or shouted. Not like Jesse could tell.

"I fink this is ac-ually another world." Petra said, still looking at the city/ island. "A city in the clouds. In our world, dat sounds pretty impos-ble."

"And yet there it is." Lukas said, gesturing to the island.

"Err, yeah. Dere it is," Petra put her hands on her hips, "and here we are. We're stranded."

Ivor's face, which was previously lit up like a redstone lamp, fell. "Dat's a problem."

"What did you guys bring?" Jesse asked. "Anything to build?"

Ivor scowled. "Nun of your bus-ness!"

"I thought we wur just gonna che-k out a temple, so I did-'t bring much." Lukas answered, completely ignoring Ivor. "You fink it's pos-ible to b-ild all the way there?"

"I don't have much either." Petra added. "We don't have en-ugh mat-rials."

Lukas replied something, but Jesse wasn't looking. He knelt down carefully and leaned over the side of their little island, looking down. Dirt blocked extended down the sides of the island. Jesse counted at least twelve layers of blocks to build with, plus whatever they had. Yup. Definitely enough to build to the island city.

"This island is bigger than it looks." Jesse observed, standing up again. "If we dig up the whole island, we could probably build over there with no problem."

Everyone else nodded, and took their places on the island. Jesse cracked his knuckles (This kind of reminded him of Soren's library) and began digging. There was going to be so much dirt under his nails later. Ick.

As he kept digging, a thought struck him. _Where did the Blaze Rods appear in this world? Was there even an exit portal here? Crap, what if there wasn't?_

A couple of minutes later, the island had been reduced to the bare minimum required to hold four people, and by "bare minimum", he meant "enough to stay standing, if standing meant constantly having to balance on the edge of oblivion". Four people, four blocks to stand on, one person per block. Jesse was lucky that he was on the small side. Gosh, what if Axel was here?

"Let's just build this bridge already, before someone falls off!' Jesse shouted, over whatever Lukas and Petra were arguing about. They immediately shut up and began building with Jesse and Ivor.

A couple of minutes after that, Jesse placed the last dirt block he had down, and stepped onto some purple carpet. As they filed onto the island, Petra raised an eyebrow, looking back at their impromptu bridge.

"Really, Ivor?" she deadpanned. Jesse turned to look too, and saw a crudely- built skull shape, with lava pouring out of its eye sockets. Why was Ivor randomly carrying lava with him?

"Heh, sorry." Ivor shrugged. "C-uldn't help it."

Then his friends turned around, as if someone else had spoken, so Jesse took the cue and turned with them (Basically, he looked to his friends for anything he should be reading, but wasn't looking at currently).

It was a young man, around Jesse, Lukas, and Petra's age, wearing a plain blue and white shirt, plain green pants, plain leather shoes, and a shoulder bag. He was shaking nervously as his eyes darted between the four of them.

"I.. y-u.. -ou d-n't…" the man stammered. Jesse didn't bother trying to decipher that mess. Stammering was ten times harder to read.

"Umm… is something wrong?" Jesse finally asked, when no one else made to say anything. The man looked surprised at what Jesse had said.

"Y-u… -ou don't know?" the man asked. "You were building! Una-for-rised building iz against de law!"

"Unauthorized building is against the law?" Jesse asked Petra, for confirmation. She nodded, looking a little weirded out.

"Wait, dere's a law saying pe-ple can't build?" Lukas asked.

"Yes, it's forbi-den!" the man said, throwing up his hands in the air slightly.

Jesse frowned, turning to his friends. They were all frowning, and Ivor threw his hands up in frustration, yelling something that looked like "It's doesn't make sense at all!"

"Why's it forbidden?" Jesse asked the man. He twitched violently.

The man stuttered, making it impossible to read. He turned back to the city, still talking, turned back to the group, said something about "other outsiders", which Jesse assumed were the Blaze Rods, THEN said something about nervousness. He then ran away. Jesse turned back to his friends, who looked about as baffled as he was.

"Somebody repeat that."

"He said there were more outsiders." Lukas repeated slowly, scowling in the direction the ran ran in. "Probably the Blaze Rods. The man said they went to the inn."

"Yeah, we need to go cat-h them!" Petra interrupted, her eyes shooting imaginary sparks. "Who nose wut the-re doing!"

They entered the city, and almost forgot about why they were there. Jesse's eyes widened as he tried to take in everything at once. This place looked _expensive._ Next to all the buildings in sight were made of iron blocks, decorated with gleaming gold blocks. Deep purple banners (which meant royalty, according to a book he'd read) hung on the necks of redstone lamps. The architecture was amazing. And were the streets iron too? Who would _need_ iron streets?

"Wow." Petra finally said, breaking the sil- actually, never mind. That saying no longer worked for him.

"Wow indeed." Jesse echoed. "Whoever built all this must be insanely rich."

Lukas nodded slowly, still trying to look at everything at once.

"The Ev-rso-rce!" Ivor exclaimed excitedly, jumping in front of the group to face them all (Jesse flinched). "Clear-y it'z cap-ble of ! u*7h3 fings!"

"Um, okay." Jesse said. Man- child Ivor was hard to read.

"Okay, okay, the Ev-rsource is cool!" Petra cut in, waving her arms to get Ivor's attention. "But weave gotta go after Aiden! He'z here to take it!"

"Right." Lukas scowled at the thought of his former friend. "But he has a head s-art."

"We have to start somewhere." Jesse shrugged. "The man from before said something about an inn, right? We should go look for that."

Petra nodded, already breaking away from their little group to begin searching. Everyone else followed suit.

Jesse suddenly felt very vulnerable. He was in a completely different world, let alone a different town, and (not that he could blame his friends) nobody was watching out for him. People back home knew he was deaf, and something about that reassured him that no one was going to jump on him or something… just being in an unfamiliar place with almost no way of communicating was kind of unnerving. Like speaking a different language.

Jesse would try to avoid talking to anyone here for now. Getting into a conversation, and then having to explain that he was deaf was sure to draw unwanted attention to them, and if they didn't want to alert Aiden to their presence, attention was to be avoided.

To his left, there were two stone and wood buildings, with open walls. Each building had a guard standing next to it, a book in their hands, and a long line of townspeople in front of them. Inside the first building, a single crafting table stood, and in the other, a single furnace. These people were lining up just to use a furnace and crafting table? The building restrictions here were more strict than he thought they would be.

He walked around some sort of garden thing, which was built down a few blocks, and held only a couple of oak trees, some grass, and a small waterfall. It had no flowers. As far as he could tell, this was the only greenery in the entire city. Did that mean any wood or seeds could only be obtained in this small patch of land? Jesse highly doubted _everyone_ got their food here. Otherwise, he wouldn't be seeing so many healthy- looking people. A secret farm, then?

Jesse jumped as a tanned, bearded face appeared in front of his. Judging by his olive green attire, he was some sort of guard… guarding a patch of forest.

"... n de grass." the guard was saying. Jesse mentally sighed. So much for avoiding conversation. Something about grass. Don't step on it? Don't look at it for too long?

"Okay." Jesse said, hoping it made sense. The guard's face betrayed nothing, so Jesse risked a little more. "Um, do you know where the inn is?"

"Sure." the guard said. He turned to the side, pointing to some sort of alley, saying something unreadable. Jesse assumed the alley was where the inn would be. He thanked the guard, who turned back to guarding the patch of grass. Why it was labeled a garden, Jesse would never know. "Patch" seemed like a more appropriate name.

He entered the alley, which was relatively short. To the right, a sign above an arched doorway read INN. Right outside the door, two men stood, and they seemed to be whispering something, and the blond man was making small, quick gestures, like _Give it quick!_

Suspicious stuff. Jesse lip- read their conversation as best as he could.

"... uld I put dem?" the black- haired man was whispering, bringing out… sticks.

The blond guy looked around quickly, and Jesse tried not to look like he was eavesdropping (does lip reading count?). Satisfied, he turned back to the man with the sticks, taking them quickly and shoving them into his inventory.

"..ive dem to me. All deal wif dem." the blond hissed, He shoved the tan man urgently. "Now, shoo!"

The black- haired man scurried away, glancing around like a mouse check for a cat. Did they have cats here?

From what Jesse had learned from the nervous man earlier, building was illegal. And from the patch and the lineups, he could tell that resources were carefully controlled here, and nobody made anything without.. _someone's_ permission. So what he just witnessed was probably some sort of black marketing of materials smuggled from Notch knows where. Huh. Petra would know this type of stuff.

The blond man caught him staring, and his eyes immediately narrowed.

 _Crap._

Jesse speed- walked out of there. He'd found the Inn, and that was all he was supposed to do, anyways. No getting involved in shady black- marketing stuff. That was Petra's thing. Though she dropped out of it when she joined the Order.

He found Petra, Lukas and Ivor just outside the "Garden", discussing what looked to be Aiden. When they saw him approaching, they stopped to face him.

"So, I found the Inn." he said. "What were you guys saying about Aiden?"

Lukas looked mildly impressed at the fact that he could read them from so far away.

Petra scowled. "We were wondering _why_ he went throo (through?) the portal." she told him slowly. "Like, why go to another world? All he wanted was treasure. He got the flint and steel from us."

Jesse turned to Lukas, who knew Aiden more than anyone present. He shrugged.

"I don't know. It's like he's snapped." he replied. Even he was confused.

"You said you found the Inn?" Ivor interrupted. "Dat's great! Did you sea de inn-e-per?"

"The innkeeper?" Jesse asked. Ivor nodded. "What does he even look like?"

"A guy I -alked to sa-d messy." Petra supplied helpfully. "Sus-enders. Us-al-y with a s-rap sl-p-ing off."

"Um." Jesse licked his lips (they were rather dry today). "Suspenders. Usually with a.. something something off."

"Strap slipping." Lukas mouthed slowly.

"Right, sorry. Yeah, I did see someone like him. But you know what was strange?" Jesse glanced back at the alley that lead to the Inn, and almost jumped when he found a pair of sharp blue eyes watching him. He turned back to his friends as quickly as possible.

"He looked like he was illegally trading sticks."

"What?" Ivor asked.

"Think about it." Jesse said, gesturing to the long line- ups for the crafting table and furnace. "Anything and everything crafted or built has to go through whoever leads this place. Like, even turning planks into sticks has to be approved. Someone probably started a black market for crafting or something."

"Yeah." Petra nodded. "Dat makes senze."

Jesse glanced back at the Innkeeper, who was trying and failing to spy on them.

"Hey, he's looking at us now." Jesse said, still looking at the Innkeeper. Why was he spying on them, besides the fact that Jesse was a witness to his possible black market trade? Was it something he was wearing?

"Let'z talk t- him, den!" Ivor exclaimed, marching straight over to the Innkeeper with zero shame. The group slipped into the alleyway, away from the prying eyes of the guards.

The Innkeeper immediately began babbling. "Pl-se don't ar-est me! It was js-t a stick, I sw-ar it!"

"Arrest you?" Jesse asked him, frowning. "We're not here to arrest you."

The Innkeeper blinked, confused. "Y-u're not -ere to arrest me?"

"Um, no?" Lukas said, though his facial expression made it look like a question.

The Innkeeper laughed in relief, confirming the whole black market theory. "Good, good, bec-use, well, with de arm-ur, I tho-ght…" he waved his hands in a "never mind" gesture.

"We just wanted to ask you a few questions." Jesse said. "See, we're looking for a group that calls themselves the 'Blaze Rods', and we heard that they came by the Inn earlier. You are the Innkeeper, right?"

The Innkeeper's eyes flashed with recognition at the words 'Blaze Rods'. "Yeah, I'm the In-ke-p-r. And I fink I saw who y-u're look-ng for." He then muttered something like "Outsiders."

"Great!" Petra exclaimed, her face lighting up. "Do too hap-en to know w-ere they went and why?" she asked.

"Um…" the Innkeeper (they still didn't know his name?) rubbed his hands together nervously. "I as-ume t-ey wen- to de Fo-nder, whooze in t-e pal-ce…"

Annnd Jesse lost him beyond what he assumed was the word "palace". The Blaze Rods went to a person called the "Fonder" (which didn't feel right.), who was in a palace…

He looked around. The only obvious palace around was the one covered in purple banners with golden egg emblems. It's egg- shaped roofs shone in the sunlight. It seemed like the type of place a king or queen would live in. Meaning the "Fonder" (he was seriously doubting the fact that "Fonder" was an actual person) was a person of high power.

So why would Aiden go to someone in charge first? It was obvious the Eversource belonged to the people here, and if Jesse were one one trying to take it, he wouldn't go to the people who would probably arrest him for it.

Aiden was more complicated than Jesse gave him credit for.

Jesse turned back to the conversation with the Innkeeper just in time to catch Petra yelling 'That creep!"

"What?" Jesse asked her. Petra just growled and shook her head, so he turned to Ivor and Lukas for answers.

"He went to the Founder, who has the Eversource." Lukas explained slowly. "Who runs this whole place, by the way, so who knows what he could be doi-"

He was interrupted by something Jesse couldn't hear, so he just followed everyone's gazes, to the stream of people making their way to the front steps of the palace. Several guards were standing at the top of said stairs, and a few guards stood around the crowd of people. All eyes turned to the top of the stairs.

"What's going on?" Jesse hissed as they joined the crowd at the back. The Innkeeper stood a couple of steps away from them, watching closely.

"An announcement from the Founder." Petra mouthed slowly. "I don't feel good about this."

Jesse turned his attention to the top of the stairs, where a woman emerged. She wore a gold and black dress, with a white sash around her waist. She also had a gold headband in her black hair. She had an air of power and authority around her, and he instantly knew she was the Founder, and had been so for quite some time. She also seemed well respected, if the way the guards snapped to attention was anything to go by.

Then The Blaze Rods emerged, Aiden standing next to the Founder while Maya and Gill stood behind them. All of them had stupid smirks on their faces.

"Well, f***." Jesse muttered under his breath. Petra nodded vehemently. Lukas had a blank look on his face. Ivor scowled deeply.

The Founder began speaking, but Jesse was too far away to read her lips. Aiden, however, had thought ahead. He motioned for Gill to pass him a large white board, which he held up. Pre- written words, big and bold so everyone could read it, read "JESSE, YOU'RE UNDER ARREST."

Jesse raised an eyebrow. "For what?" he whispered.

"Look." Lukas hissed, pointing at one of the guards, who was holding up another sign. It read "FOR ILLEGAL BUILDING."

The Founder was pointing at something behind the crowd, so they all turned to look. The gates of the island (why were there gates in the first place?) opened slowly, revealing the dirt bridge and Ivor's dirt skull they had built earlier.

"Wait, y-u're the brid-e b-ilders?" the Innkeeper asked. Lukas nodded. The Innkeeper looked a little too excited about that.

Jesse turned back to the Founders and Blaze Rods. They were holding up another sign. "COME FORWARD. WE WILL FIND YOU."

Ivor's eyes went wide, as if he suddenly had an idea. "We have to ge- to de Ev-rso-rce at all costz! Dis is t-e fas-est way in!" he exclaimed, pointing to the palace. The guards at the top of the stairs had descended into the crowd. They were going to be arrested quickly if they didn't do something now.

"The Eversource?" Jesse asked him. "Is that all you care about? What we need to figure out is what the heck _Aiden_ wants here! And how to get home!"

Ivor looked vaguely insulted, but there was a hint of truth in his eyes. The original reason they got into this whole portal thing was Ivor's desire for treasure.

"He wants the Eversource." Ivor hissed slowly. "We have to get to it first."

Then he turned to the guards, jumping up and down and waving at them. Jesse assumed he was yelling stuff along the lines of "Come get me! I built the bridge!"

"What the heck, Ivor!" Jesse yelped, giving up on the whole whispering thing. Several guards descended on Ivor, grabbing each of his arms. The people around them ran away in fear. Oddly, the Innkeeper stayed where he was.

"I can -elp you!" the Innkeeper said quickly. Jesse almost missed it. "I -no- a way y-u can ge- in de palace wi-hout get-ing ar-ested!"

"This is stupid!" Petra said. "I'm not get-ing ar-ested!"

"Y-u guys coming wi-h me?" Ivor asked as he struggled with the guards.

"What are w- even doing?" Lukas asked, halfway between helping Ivor and running with Petra.

There were too many people talking at once, and Jesse struggled to catch any of it. Petra said something about running, while Ivor kept saying something about "the fastest way", the Innkeeper babbled on about helping them, and Lukas rambled about unreadable things. It was confusing, and it was one of those times where he wished someone had given him a helmet when he made the formidibomb.

Someone's fingers wound around his wrist, making him yelp in surprise. It was a guard. Damn him and his deafness. He wouldn't be caught if he could just hear people talking.

"Hey, let me go!" he shouted, trying to pull away from the guard. "How could I have known building was illegal? I just got here!"

The guard did not respond, just wrapped his arms around Jesse's arms and chest, effectively grounding him in place. Jesse tried pushing out against the guard's arms, but the guard was too strong.

"Jesse!" Lukas and Petra shouted. Lukas lunged for the guard holding Jesse, but was tackled rather hard by another guard. A second guard showed up, pinning Lukas' legs down. Petra and the Innkeeper were the only ones left free.

"Go with the Innkeeper!" he shouted, trying to kick the guard holding him and failing. "We'll be fine!"

Petra looked like she was going to refuse, but then a guard lunged for her, and she had to dodge, running after the Innkeeper and into an alley. Several guards followed them in hot pursuit. He hoped they could find a place to hide. He stopped fighting against the guard.

After Lukas was pulled to his feet by the two guards holding him, the three of them were herded inside the palace, and forced to their knees as the Founder and The Blaze Rods stood before them. Maya and Gill stood behind the Founder, while Aiden stood next to her, an unsettling smile on his face. Jesse randomly noted that Aiden had a rash on his jaw. Serves him right for being a douchebag.

The Founder, to Jesse's surprise, addressed him first. Aiden must've explained his deafness to her, in probably a demeaning way.

"Aiden has told me of who you are." she said painfully slowly. Everyone talked painfully slowly when they first learned he was deaf. "A hoarder, taking all the treasures you find and keeping them to yourself. A greedy-"

"He is not!" both Lukas and Ivor protested. Jesse looked at Ivor in surprise. He wasn't known for being nice.

"Aiden has be-n lying to y-u!" Lukas said, glaring at his former friend.

"Silence!" the Founder snapped. She turned back to Jesse. "Aiden has accused you of coming here to steal the Eversource, the very thing our people depend on to live. Is this true?"

Jesse took a second to process this new information. This Eversource, whatever it was, were the island's lifeline. Why did they want it in the first place again?

"Well, I personally was just looking for adventure." Jesse said carefully. The Founder did not react. "I didn't come here with the intent to steal the Eversource from your people. In fact, I didn't even know you guys relied on it to live. So, now that I know you guys need it, I'm planning on leaving the Eversource alone."

He said the last part while looking at Ivor. Ivor looked torn between wanting to leave the Eversource alone, and taking it for himself. It would be pretty cool, having an endless supply of every material you could think of. But these people depended on that, because you couldn't get much in the middle of the sky.

"He's lying." Aiden said slowly, meaning he wanted Jesse to "hear" it. "They only go on adventures to get treasure. There's always more to it than a fun field trip."

Jesse was about to object to that, but bit his tongue just in time. Sometimes the Order would actually go on adventures for fun, and whatever they found were just bonuses. But in this case, it was for the Eversource. They had gone back to the temple for the Eversource, and there was no denying it.

"So why are you here, Aiden?" Jesse asked him. "Did you not come here for the Eversource too?"

Aiden's face twisted into one of anger. "I'm not the greedy hoarder like you are, Jesse. I'm not here for the Eversource." he snapped.

"Then why were you ranting about you deserving the flint and steel earlier, huh?" Jesse retorted. "Not greedy, my a-"

"Enough!" the Founder snapped. He and Aiden shut up. She turned to Jesse, Lukas, and Ivor (who looked a bit afraid of her). "The three of you are under arrest for illegal building, and attempting to steal the Eversource." she said slowly, her face stormy.

"What?" Lukas protested. "But we did-'t kno- b-ilding was il-egal!"

"What he said!" Ivor agreed.

"And we didn't attempt to steal the Eversource." Jesse snapped.

"But you were going to." Aiden snapped back, and Jesse fell silent. They were. To prevent Aiden from getting it. But Aiden didn't want it, apparently. But that didn't matter. They were going to take it.

"If you -hree are done." The Founder broke the silence (Well, not really, but whatever). She gestured to one of the guards, who pulled out a sheet of parchment and a stick of charcoal. He began writing as the Founder spoke.

"Jesse, Lukas, and Ivor are -ereby sen-enced to two m-nths in prison, and den life on S-ye City." she said. The guard finished writing, drew a line at the bottom, and handed the parchment and charcoal to the Founder. She scribbled what looked like a signature on the line.

Jesse looked at his friends, who looked completely horrified at their sentence. He was too. He was furious, in fact. It was Aiden who threatened them for the flint and steel, Aiden who bullied him for several years, Aiden who made fun of his deafness, Aiden who got them in this whole mess! What did he get in return? Nothing. He was getting off scot- free. Who knew what he was going to do now, now that the Order was out of his way?

Their only hope now was Petra and the Innkeeper.

"Take them." the Founder commanded. Three guards each grabbed one "criminal" (he refused to call them true criminals; they did nothing wrong), leading them down some stairs, Aiden following them to watch. They entered some sort of basement/ prison.

It was smaller than Jesse thought it would be, but it looked like a pretty sad place. The cells were plain stone, with iron bars and an iron door. There were no windows, just torches along the walls. A line of chests sat against the left wall, and they stopped in front of those.

"Weapons." the guard in the lead commanded. He must've known about Jesse's deafness, for he was facing him head- on while saying this.

For a second, no one moved. They didn't want to give up their weapons.

"Weapons." the guard commanded again, making some sort of gesture to the two guards not holding them. They drew their swords.

"Okay, okay, weapons." Lukas said. He dropped his bow, and a couple of arrows. Ivor followed with an ungodly amount of harming potions, a wooden sword that broke as soon as it hit the floor, and a carrot. Why the carrot was considered a weapon, Jesse would never know.

All Jesse had to drop was his enchanted diamond sword. Aiden smirked.

"Put -hem in sep-rate cellz." Aiden told the guards. "Don't want- hem mak-ng plans. Oh, yeah, and," he looked right at Jesse. He spoke slowly. "Since we don't want them making plans, we should blindfold and tie them up."

"AIDEN!" Lukas shouted, in what looked like horror. "NO!"

"You've already got us arrested, Aiden." Jesse spat. "What more do you want to do with us?"

Aiden glared fiercely at Jesse. He almost wilted under the intense hate that Aiden radiated.

"To get you out of the way." he mouthed. He then turned back to the guards. "So? Yes or no?"

"You made a good po-nt, Aiden." the lead guard said. "Get de ropes and clo-h." he commanded the two guards not holding anyone. They nodded, and they went over to one of the chests, reaching in and pulling out several small bundles of rope, along with some plain white cloth. They approached the three of them.

"I declare that dis i- stupid." Ivor said bluntly, his face in a very deep scowl. His black eyes burned with silent fury. After saying that, he was effectively silenced by the white cloth being tied around his eyes (not that he needed his eyes to speak, just that he stopped talking). The second guard tied Ivor's wrists and ankles together tightly, though not roughly. There were still human, after all.

Jesse was seriously starting to doubt that Aiden was right in the head.

Lukas received the same treatment. The blond struggled a great deal, and Aiden said something that made him go still. He was blinded and tied without much fuss after that. Then it was Jesse's turn.

"I also declare that this is stupid." Jesse said tonelessly. "Does the Founder know about the way you're treating us?"

"She trusts me, Jesse. She would agree with this." he said slowly.

"Yeah, maybe she would. But seriously, what are you doing here, if you don't want the Eversource? What are you planning?" Jesse asked, eyes narrowed.

Aiden smiled that unsettling smile again. "Nothing." he answered out loud. "Doesn't matter, Jesse." he mouthed, so the guards wouldn't hear what he was saying. "You'll be down here the entire time, blindfolded."

Then the guard blindfolded him, and Jesse lost the ability to communicate. Because what good was lip reading when you couldn't see?

 **-o.0.o-**

 **Word count: 4984 ish**

 **Sooooo this chapter was super late. Sorry guys.**

 **What did you think of this chapter? I'm okay with it, though it could always be better. What did you think of Aiden? Too OOC? Too douchy? There is a reason for that, though, so stay tuned!**

 **Side note:** **Anyone play on the Wynncraft server? If you don't, but have Minecraft, check it out! Just Google Wynncraft.**

 **Okay good morning, because it's like midnight in Canada and I don't know why I'm still up...**


	13. He learned very quickly

**Decibels chpt.13:** **He learned very quickly**

 **Just for the record, I'm starting this chapter the 16th of April. Let's see how long it takes from here to get this chapter out…**

 **EDIT: Wow, it's taking a long time. Ho leee I did not mean for it to go on so long, sorry!**

 **Guest replies:**

 **Angel Star Ninja: Yup :) Jesse's very lucky to have friends like them.**

 **Guest: As you can see, I failed that.**

 **WARNING:** **Some profanity and one rude hand gesture. Also, there are mentions of depression, though it's not really that obvious.**

 **Disclaimer:** **Do I even need to be doing this every chapter? Ha, whatever :)**

 **-o.0.o-**

Jesse learned very quickly that he hated the dark.

Or, actually, the blank whiteness, since the cloth was white. At least in the darkness, he wouldn't be sure that he was truly abandoned, because you would never be certain that you were truly alone. But with the whiteness, he could see nothing. Just endless white in all directions. He couldn't see anyone, and without his hearing, he had to assume they weren't there. He didn't like that. The last time he was truly alone, he almost died.

Jesse closed his eyes. There. Darkness wasn't much better, but it was better than endless white.

He felt the guards' hands tying him up, binding his wrists and arms together tightly. They also tied his legs together, stopping just above his knees. He couldn't quite remember if Ivor and Lukas were tied up as much as he was, but Jesse wouldn't put it past Aiden to tie him up more than the others.

He then felt himself being moved, and that was when he began to panic. He couldn't _see!_ Where were they taking him? To the cells that were to his left (or was it right?) or somewhere else? He wouldn't ever know. They could be taking him away from Ivor and Lukas. They could be taking him literally anywhere.

He struggled, wrenching himself free of whoever was holding him (he no longer knew that either), but falling to the floor pretty quickly after that. He had absolutely no sense of direction anymore, and having his limbs tied up didn't help. He felt his mouth open in a silent yelp as he hit the floor. Damn, he felt so disconnected with everything. He couldn't even feel how big the room was.

He felt someone try to grab his foot, and he kicked out, knocking it back. Then several more hands (too many) grabbed him by the arms and hauled him up. They began dragging him somewhere.

"Where are you guys taking me?" he shouted, trying to wiggle out of their grip. "Lukas? Ivor? Are you guys still there? Please don't take me somewhere else!"

His pleas were ignored. Or they weren't. Again, he didn't know. He knew nothing.

Jesse was set down on a cold stone floor, and the hands released him. He kicked out blindly, not hitting anything. He was now alone. Or maybe he wasn't. Maybe Lukas and Ivor were in wherever he was with him. They could be screaming for him, and Jesse wouldn't even know.

He felt so alone and confused. Being deaf and blindfolded did not feel good.

He sat down hard, the skin of his wrists rubbing against the rope. With no sound or sight, he had only the sense of taste, touch, and smell. Taste wouldn't do much in this situation, so really, he only had smell and touch. That wasn't enough. He needed to know where Lukas and Ivor were. He needed to know where Petra and the Innkeeper were. He needed to know if there was anyone with him. Touch and smell weren't going to help him. Nothing was going to help him.

He wondered if he was facing anybody. A guard? Lukas or Ivor? What did he look like right now to them? Jesse imagined himself sitting on a floor, blindfolded and tied up like a pig for slaughter. And if someone was talking to him right now, completely unresponsive. The world could be sucked into oblivion, or someone could have a sword to his throat, and he wouldn't even see it coming. Heck, Lukas and Ivor could be in the middle of being executed or something, and Jesse would just be a sitting duck.

That sounde- _looked_ pathetic.

He wouldn't see anything coming. He was wide open, vulnerable and docile. He was like an enderman on a very small boat with no railings and a chain on its legs. He was unprotected in the dark. And lost in the white. He didn't like this. He didn't like this at all. Nope.

"Lukas? Ivor?" he finally asked aloud. No answer. Obviously. Or maybe they did answer. He must've looked and sounded stupid, talking to no one.

"You guys are there, right?" he asked again (why was he doing this?). "I hope you guys are there. Being deaf and blindfolded isn't that great. I don't even know where I am. I think this is the closest I can get to nothing while still being awake."

Nothing happened. No vibrations through the floor, or someone touching him. There was no indication that anyone other than himself existed.

"Guys, I'm really lonely."

Still nothing. Why he was expecting a reaction, he didn't know. Maybe he was just looking for some proof that he wasn't vulnerable. Wasn't alone and pretty much had only his own thoughts for company.

He should be trying to get out of his bindings. If he could just get his arms free, he could easily undo the plethora of knots that held the blindfold to his eyes. It was tied on pretty tightly. Then he could get his legs free. And from there… he didn't know.

But the desire to know that he wasn't alone overpowered the desire to get free. The darkness was all consuming; he couldn't see anything but darkness, couldn't hear anything. He could feel the cold hard ground, but that could be anywhere. He had no one in the darkness. He had no one in the whiteness either. He had no one.

"Can someone please remove the blindfold?" he asked. Surely the guards (if there were guards at all) would understand? They knew he was deaf. He was bound pretty tightly. He was disarmed. He wouldn't do anything violent. They could even leave him tied up. Just get the blindfold off.

"Please, can someone remove the blindfold?" he asked again. Nothing. Maybe he was truly alone.

"Please remove the blindfold."

Nothing. Absolutely nothing at all. If he just ignored the way the ropes chafed his wrists and the how the floor made him cold, he could pretend he was dead. Was this what death was like? Just nothing but your thoughts? He didn't like this.

"Is there a guard anywhere?" he asked to the nothingness. "Because I really need this blindfold off."

Nothing happened. There was only nothingness and his own thoughts.

"Guys, please, take the blindfold off!" he begged, pushing against the rope around his arms. They did not budge. "You don't understand what it's like! Take it off!"

Nothing.

"Is anyone there?" he asked.

Nothing. Just nothingness.

"I'm alone, aren't I?" Jesse asked no one. "I've been talking to no one the entire time. Or maybe Ivor and Lukas are here. I don't know. I don't know!"

Still just the nothingness and his thoughts. There was no proof he was even still on Sky City. He could be anywhere. He wouldn't know a thing. Ivor and Lukas could be listening to him right now. He must've sounded stupid. Again (yes, again), he didn't know.

He didn't know anything. He was so fucking lost. Dammit, dammit, dammit! Why was something so simple like being blindfolded now so incapacitating? He used to be fine. This wouldn't have bothered him at all if he weren't deaf. He was supposed to be fine. This was nothing. Being blindfolded was nothing, just the loss of sight. It wasn't even permanent.

 _C'mon, Jesse, this is nothing. You're fine._

But suddenly, it was everything. Suddenly, being blindfolded was like ripping the world from under his feet. Suddenly, nothing was certain. Who knew sight was so important to him now?

Jesse struggled against his restraints one last time, just to make sure he couldn't get out (Anything. Any sign of escape). He felt the ropes beginning to cut into his wrists. They were pretty rough. And tight. He hoped he wasn't bleeding. He hoped Lukas and Ivor weren't hurt. He hoped Petra and the Innkeeper hadn't been caught. Oh gosh, what if they have?

Again, for what seemed like the thousandth time, he wouldn't know.

He sighed, defeated. He was going to be alone, in the unknown, for Notch knows how long. He could feel the nothingness closing in on him. It pressed down in all directions, making it a bit hard to breathe. The cold floor was not helping him feel any better about this. He needed a distraction. Anything.

Jesse began counting mentally to keep track of time and distract him. _One… two… three… four…_

He got to seventy- two before the nothingness began closing in again. He tried closing his eyes and visualizing anything to fill in the void, but closing his eyes made no difference. He couldn't get rid of it.

He began muttering the numbers under his breath. Maybe if he were doing something instead of thinking it, it would help?

"One… two… three... four…"

He got to sixty- eight before the coldness of the floor against his hands began to seep into the void. Cold and dark. He didn't like it.

"Sixty- nine… seve- seventy… s- seventy- one…"

The void was still there, no matter how hard he tried to distract himself. Dammit! If only he could get his hands free, then he could attempt to rip the blindfold off. It was tied very tightly, the rough cloth digging into his nose bridge. Rubbing his face with his knees wouldn't get them off. And now that he thought about the way he was tied up, he could remember Lukas' and Ivor's hands being tied in front of them. Not to mention the fact that the weren't tied up to the elbows either. The majority of their shins were free, too.

Something was up with Aiden. He hated Jesse with a scary kind of madness. He wasn't a run- of- the- mill bully anymore.

He sat there, on the cold stone floor, waiting. There was nothing else to do. He couldn't fight off the void, couldn't hold a conversation, couldn't escape without hurting himself, couldn't do _anything!_ No words could describe how helpless and frustrated he was.

Maybe if he fell asleep, he could dream? At least dreaming might have sound (though that rarely ever happened anymore). And visuals. Something to see. Yes, that would be really good. Way better than the nothingness. He could escape. He could be free of the blankness.

But then he would wake up, only to be met with blank whiteness. No, he wasn't going to disappoint himself like that. What good was freedom if it was temporary?

And so, Jesse waited. He sat on the floor of whatever, staring into the blankness. He sat there until his back grew stiff, but he couldn't lie down, as his arms were tied behind his back. He sat there until his legs began to fall asleep. He sat there for a very long time. Or maybe it was only a few minutes. Even time didn't exist now!

He needed something to think about. Anything… anything… cats? No, ocelots were cats, and Aiden used to be an Ocelot. Snowball fights with Axel and Olivia? No, the endless white sheets of snow reminded him of the scratchy fabric currently scratching at his eyelids.

Jesse wondered what Axel and Olivia were doing right now. Ivor, Lukas, Petra and himself must have been missing for at least eight hours now, and going by what time it was when they left, it would be near midnight in their world. They would be worried. Maybe they would even notice the Blaze Rods' sudden disappearances, and put two and two together.

Damn, he shouldn't have gone down that trail of thought. Now he missed his first human friends. Reuben being his first ever friend, of course.

Damn again, because now that Reuben had come to mind, he couldn't stop thinking about his late piggy friend. Lying on the rocky ground at the edge of a crater filled with water, slowly burning from the inside out as broken bones and ruptured organs screamed. HIs own blood seeping out of the cut on his hand and pooling in his palm. Jesse shivered as he remembered the coldness of the air against wet skin-

What the heck was he doing? This wasn't right. That had happened a while ago. He had experienced this already. Why had his mind taken a dark turn so suddenly?

The blankness was making him go insane, wasn't it? People weren't meant to be alive, yet cut off from the world. What was the point in living if you couldn't do anything? Not that Jesse wanted to die (of course he didn't; then he would be wasting Reuben's death), but he felt pretty cut off with no sight or sound. He felt pretty dead.

No, Jesse, stop thinking about death. You're not dead. You're just blindfolded and deaf. You'll be fine. Someone will come and untie you. Petra and the Innkeeper will come and break you and your friends out. This isn't the end. You'll be rescued. You aren't insane. You will be rescued.

Eventually.

Right?

* * *

He was floating through a void, silence all around him, when suddenly there were hands touching him. They tugged at the ropes around his ankles and wrists, startling him out of his trance- like state. Where were the guards taking him now? What was going on?

Or had the unknown amount of time he spent in the "Void" finally made him insane? Was his mind so starved of outside interaction that his imagination was conjuring random crap for him?

He lashed out with his legs, hitting something solid. Okay, not a hallucination.

Jesse felt more people grabbing at him, attempting to restrain him. He fought back ferociously; he didn't want to be taken anywhere else. The guards (or maybe even Aiden) were going to do something bad to him, and he wouldn't know a thing until it hit him. He didn't want that. He was _afraid_ of that. Imagine being totally cut off from the world, and then getting slapped or something. It would've come from nowhere.

Someone managed to grab the rope around his arms and wrists, and began tugging. To drag him off somewhere, probably. Jesse tried yanking back, but that only succeeded in finally cutting into his wrists, making him yelp in surprise. Damn. He knew his wrists were already burned, but not that burned.

The yelp seemed to have triggered a reaction from the guards, because suddenly they stopped trying to restrain him. There were a few seconds of nothing, and Jesse briefly wondered if the past.. minute (?) or so had been a terrifyingly real hallucination. Then, there were a pair of hands tugging at the blindfold over his eyes. He flinched, trying to shake his head away.

But wait… if the guards were trying to take him away, why take off the blindfold?

Well, it could be his friends, here to save him or something. He didn't want to get his hopes up, only to be disappointed later. Wow, he was depressing. Then again, the last year or so was pretty depressing.

The moment of stillness was all the people needed to rip the blindfold away violently. The white cloth fluttered to the floor harmlessly. It was strange to think that such an innocent item could make him so afraid and alone. It was only a piece of cloth!

Jesse was pulled out of his thoughts when someone gripped his shoulders and shook them gently. He looked up, and lo and behold, his friends were standing over him, looking concerned (Ivor not so much, but he still looked slightly worried). Petra had a growing bruise on her chin, and he realized that he had made that bruise, when he had first lashed out.

"Sorry, Petra." Jesse apologized.

"It's okay, Jesse." Petra replied, and he wasn't sure if she was referring to the bruise, or the situation.

Lukas, who was behind Petra, knelt down to begin the tedious task of untying his legs, while Ivor moved behind Jesse and gently began untying his arms and wrist. Petra picked up the white cloth, walked over to a torch, and set it on fire. She let it drop to the floor, and they both watched it burn.

"Um, so what happened?" Jesse asked, looking around. He didn't see any guards anywhere. "I don't see any guards anywhere, and this is a prison. I thought prisons had, uh, guards in them. Because that's what a prison's supposed to be like."

Everyone was giving him strange looks, even Ivor. Damn him and his rambling tendencies.

"Are you okay, Jesse?" Petra asked. "You're ac-ing a bit str-nge."

"I heard you shouting from down the hall." Lukas added, frowning.

"I'm fine!" Jesse squeaked. _Oh Notch they heard him._ "You guys came and rescued me, so I'm fine. Really, I'm fine now."

His friends looked like they were going to argue, but then the Innkeeper turned a corner, appearing in the doorway of the cell. He said something quickly, and Petra's worried face morphed into a focused one.

"Right." she nodded. "We don't -now -hen the g-ards will wake up, so we got-a move q-ickly."

They left Jesse's cell without another word, walking down a short hallway lined with more cells. Two of the cells had coils of rope and crumpled white cloths on the floor. Lukas and Ivor were so close to him. They were just out of his reach. Who knew.

They ascended the same set of stairs Jesse, Lukas, and Ivor had taken earlier, entering the room they were convicted in. Through the windows, he could see that it was nighttime. It was the middle of the day when he was arrested. Maybe even in the morning. That was a long time to be in total isolation. It felt like longer to Jesse.

The Innkeeper (he still didn't know his name) turned to face the group. "The ent-ance iz supposed to be in t-is th-one room." he explained.

"Um, entrance to what, exactly?" Jesse asked.

"The Eversource." Petra explained slowly. "It's hidden in a secret room."

"Ah."

They spread out across the room to find the entrance. It felt familiar. They did have to search rooms a lot during the whole Witherstorm fiasco. Solving things and going on adventures. Yeah, just like before. Things were starting to feel familiar again. He was going to be okay.

So why did he still feel so shaken? He was fine. He knew he was fine. The blindfold was gone, and he could see. He could reach out and touch the wall right now if he wanted. He could see his friends scattered across the room, all open for conversation. Jesse was so confused.

Maybe it would fade away over time. Time heals all, right?

His eyes scanned the room. The far wall opened up into some sort of garden, overlooking the void below them. In front of that was a gold and iron throne, probably where the Founder ordered people around and did Founder-y things. The rest of the room was fairly plain, purple banners with egg symbols hanging off the walls. If there was a secret door somewhere here, it was probably integrated into the wall.

A quick look at all the walls later, Jesse was pretty sure the one with a redstone trail and minecart tracks going into it was the "secret" entrance. Wow. That was almost too easy.

"Found it, I think." Jesse announced, standing in front of it. The redstone trail ended without a lever, though. "We're gonna need a lever."

Someone clapped him on the shoulder, and Jesse flinched, turning. It was Ivor. His grin faded, and he removed his hand from Jesse's shoulder.

"Wow, that wuz q-ick." Lukas commented. Petra nodded from where she was guarding the doors.

"Let's go find a lev-r." the Innkeeper said. "We can-ot waste any -ime."

They spread out once more. Jesse found himself wandering out to the garden, which had a tree in it, as well as a cobblestone generator. He'd seen the cobblestone generator a couple of years ago, when an engineer from Redstonia had visited his town to showcase some stuff. It was pretty cool.

Notch, he already missed his hometown. Who knew how long it was going to be until they got home? Since when was he so depressing?

Anyways, now was not the time to be homesick (or depressing). They had to save the Eversource from Aiden first. Right. Cobblestone generator. That could help them make a lever.

"Anyone got a pickaxe?" he asked aloud.

"I do." Petra said. She pulled out her trusty stone pickaxe, handing it to Jesse before quickly walking back to the doors to stand guard.

"Thanks." Jesse said, and he turned back to the generator. Working quickly so he didn't burn himself, he mined up the cobblestone and scooped it up just before another block formed. He handed returned the pickaxe to Petra, and returned to the garden.

He looked up at the tree. This was a island in the middle of the sky, and there were probably a limited amount of trees here. He didn't really want to cut it down. Well, he could always get the sapling(s) it would drop, but that took time, which they didn't have much of. What else could he get a stick from?

Aha. Dead bush.

He walked over to it and punched it, grabbing the stick it dropped. Hopefully the dead bush wasn't something important.

Jesse went over to the crafting table and crafted the lever they needed. He turned around to walk to the redstone trail, only to be met with the Innkeeper's face.

"What the- sorry." Jesse squeaked, taking a step back. "I didn't know you were standing so close."

The Innkeeper made a waving motion with his hand, as if to say "no worries". "My apol-g-es. It's just such a t-rill to see s-m-one so conf-dent in t-eir craf-ing abil-t-es!" he exclaimed, a huge excited smile on his face.

"Um, okay." Jesse stammered, understanding less than half of the gibberish the Innkeeper said. "What's your name, by the way?" he asked, in order to mask the awkwardness of the situation.

"Milo." Milo introduced himself, holding out a hand for him to shake. He shook it. "And you?"

"Jesse."

"Nice t- meet you." he smiled. Jesse smiled back. He seemed like a nice man.

They walked back to the redstone trail, and Milo watched in pure fascination as Jesse placed the lever at the end of the trail and flipped it. The redstone lit up, and Jesse could feel vibrations through the floor as the wall slid up to reveal minecarts, and a minecart track going downwards. The minecarts rolled out in front of them, ready to be ridden in.

Ivor made his fanboy face again. "This is it!" he grinned, rubbing his hands together like a little boy. "Ev-rs-urce, here we come!"

There happened to be exactly enough minecarts for everyone, which was oddly convenient. They all hopped in, with Jesse at the front. As soon as they were all seated, they began moving, going down before taking a sharp turn. They rocketed towards a gaping hole, but just before they reached it, they took a sharp turn again. The pattern continued, the group descending further every turn, until the tracks abruptly ended with a fence, stopping the short ride hard. They climbed out of the carts.

"Wow." Lukas breathed, his eyes wide as he took in the many chest covering the walls. The room they were in was sort of like a cave, with rows upon rows of chests that stretched back into the deeper parts of the "cave". There was a small patch of grass in one corner. Torches were placed sporadically throughout the cave. Next to where the minecarts stopped, there was a gaping hole lined with fences that opened up into the Void, which was currently a soft purple and pink. The sun would be rising soon.

Jesse stepped closer to the chests, away from the gaping hole. He did not want to fall out said hole.

There were also various signs labeling the rows of chests, each with a different mob or animal on them. Sheep, Pigman, Zombie, and Creeper were just a few of them.

They spread out a bit again, everyone looking around. "This must be w-ere the Founder stor-s her re-so-rces." Petra observed. She opened the closest chest to her, which was labeled "SHEEP". She pulled out a pink and white spotted egg. "Huh."

"That's not a sheep." Jesse said, then mentally slapped himself for that _incredibly_ intelligent observation.

"Try th-wing it." Ivor suggested. Petra shrugged, turned to the small patch of grass, and threw the strange egg at the wall. It shattered on impact, and a full- sized white sheep popped out of nowhere, landing on the grass. It proceeded to eat some of the grass calmly, like it didn't just come from an egg of all things.

"Um, what?" Lukas blurted out, blinking in confusion.

"So there's animals and mobs inside the eggs." Jesse said. "And the Founder can use the mob drops to support the island."

"Incred-ble!" Ivor exclaimed, grinning. He jumped up and down excitedly. "Let's go look for -he Ev-rso-rce!" He ran off, disappearing between the rows of chests.

The group dispersed, and Jesse was left alone again. He found his mind wandering, as it had been since going deaf. There wasn't that much you could do when left alone and deaf.

Find the Eversource. They had to find the Eversource. But then what? Protect it from Aiden, of course, but after that, what were they going to do? Unless there was a portal on the island, they weren't going to be going home at all, even after getting the flint and steel back.

That thought struck him hard. If there was no portal, they weren't going home. They were NEVER going to get home. No more treehouse. No more Axel and Olivia. No more adventures.

What would Axel and Olivia do? What would the Old Order do? Jesse and his friends would be pretty much dead to them. Their world would be devastated at the loss of their heroes. They would cease to exist in their home world.

 _Stop it,_ he thought. _Stop being so negative, Jesse. Focus on the now. Stop Aiden, then deal with the other crap later. Besides, maybe there is a portal somewhere._

But what if there wasn't?

 _Shut the frick up. Find the flipping Eversource._

He strolled between the rows of chests, passing by Ivor, who was practically quivering with excitement as he _skipped_ between the rows of chests. Jesse wasn't sure if he should be horrified, or glad that Ivor wasn't sulking. He moved past Ivor, emerging at the other end of the rows of chests.

This area was a little more closed off than the other end of the cave, with the gaping hole completely blocked off with fences. There was also another random patch of grass in the corner. Other than that, there wasn't really anything that stood out and screamed "EVERSOURCE" to him. What was the Eversource supposed to look like anyway-

He saw something move out of the corner of his eyes, and he stopped, squinting at the small patch of grass in the corner. There were several blocks of dirt stacked on top of each other, so something small could hide behind them. Jesse cautiously moved closer.

A chicken jumped out, making Jesse take a step back. He watched as it tripped on nothing, fell on its face, and got back up happily. It turned to face Jesse. There was a red and gold collar around its little neck, and there was also a small golden crown on its head. Cute.

Lukas walked over to Jesse, standing next to him and watching the chicken ruffle its feathers happily. "That chic-en has a cr-wn." he observed.

"Yeah, that's not normal." Jesse said, kneeling so he was closer to the chicken. It stared up at Jesse with its little black eyes, curious. "I wonder why it has one."

The chicken stared at Jesse for a few more awkward seconds (in which Ivor, Petra, and Milo walked over), then, to everyone's surprise, laid an egg. It was immediately obvious to everyone that the egg wasn't a normal chicken egg, though. This one was a light grey, with light brown spots.

Jesse straightened up again just as Petra spoke. "No way." she gasped, staring down at the chicken with surprise. "The chic-en's the Ev-rsource!"

"So the chicken lays the eggs that make the mobs," Jesse picked up the egg and held it. It was larger than a chicken egg. "and the drops from said mobs created this whole place."

Suddenly, Ivor popped up beside Jesse, making him jump back. Jeez, Jesse was jumpy today. More so than usual. Then again, he had a pretty good reason…

"Well, let's t-ow it in t-e mi-ecart and get out of here!" he exclaimed, half scowling and half grinning. "We're stil- taking it, ri-ht?"

"The chicken -his ent-re city dependz on?" Lukas asked, frowning. "Are you sure -hat's a good idea?"

"Yeah, remember what I said earlier?" Jesse asked the older man. "This island needs the Eversource to survive. Taking it would be like killing them."

"What do you mean, take it?" Milo cut in. "We need to br-ng it to t-e pe-ple! Where it will be free of t-e Founder!"

"But we came here just for it!" Ivor protested, almost childishly.

"But the people here need it!" Jesse protested. "Every single person on this island relies on it to survive, and all you want to do is take it away? Come on, Ivor!" He put his hands on his hips. "It's just one treasure. You can go on another adventure later. Heck, I'll even go with you. But I think the people here really need it."

Ivor scowled deeply, opening his mouth to say something, but before Jesse could read the answer, his world went sideways as something slammed into him from the side, making him drop the egg with a loud yelp. His vision was a blur of black, gold, and blue as he was tossed to the floor roughly. He made to get up, but a diamond sword pointed at his throat stopped him. Gill was on the other end of said sword, smirking proudly. Jesse growled.

Behind Gill, Jesse could see that Milo and Ivor had also been thrown to the ground, with Maya watching over them. Between them and Jesse, the Founder glared at Lukas and Petra, her arms raised and knees bent, ready to fight. Aiden stood next to her. When Aiden made eye contact with Jesse, he smirked. Jesse flipped him the bird.

"I knew it." the Founder spat. "I knew -ou were here to ste-l from me."

"That's not true!" Jesse called out, but was silenced when Gill tapped his chin with his sword. Jesse tilted his head back a bit, feeling his anger rise. "Aiden's here to steal it!"

"He's lying!" Aiden quickly protested, his eyes glinting with some hidden malicious intent. "The-'re liars, all -f them! It's jus- like I told you, Founder. They're th-eves."

"Says the guy who bullies people for fun!" Jesse retorted. Notch, Aiden was so despicable. He was the one who took the flint and steel, blindfolded a deaf person, and tied them up like a pig for slaughter, and he _dared_ to call them liars and thieves? How dare he. _How dare he._

"Says the thief!" the Founder shot back, releasing her fighting pose and standing up straight. "Aiden has told me all about you, Jesse." she snapped, speaking in that painfully slow way that Jesse _knew_ Aiden had told her to do. "All you do back in your home is sit in your fancy treehouse and take all the treasures for yourself."

"No he do-sn't!" Petra shouted, her fists balled up tightly. "You're so wrong!"

"Aiden is a liar!" Jesse shouted. "You have no idea who he is, do you? He's a bully! He cheats at everything! He even tried to set my pet pig on fire onc-"

Suddenly, the Founder wasn't listening to him. She had turned around sharply (as did everyone else), towards the chests of eggs. Aiden was opening a chest labeled "CREEPERS", and he pulled out a green and black egg, tossing it up and down casually. He had that stupid smirk on his face again.

"I'm afraid the chick-n's mine, now." he said. Across the room, Gill and Maya smirked. The yelling match between the Founder and Jesse's friends were all the Blaze Rods needed for Aiden to get to the more dangerous chests.

The Founder took a few steps back, away from Aiden. Her eyes were wide with hurt. Poor Founder. Aiden had played her like a toy.

"What?" she stammered, shaking her head. Then her face settled into a scowl. "This is outra-oeus!"

Aiden's grin grew wider, and he caught the creeper egg in his hand. A flash of fear went through the Founder's eyes.

"Aiden, don't do -his." she said, maybe even warned. Everyone else watched silently (Jesse was done with the silence jokes). The air was thick with tension.

One. Two. Three.

Aiden let out a short laugh. "Somebody ord-r eggs?" he asked. He threw the egg right at the Founder's face. It smacked her in the forehead, and a creeper spawned right in front of her. The Founder scrambled to her feet, pulling out a pair of stone swords, but before she could use them, the creeper exploded, blowing up the fences that blocked off the gaping hole and sending the Founder flying straight through it. She cried out, clinging to the edge. Lukas went to go help her up, and Petra drew her sword. Maya lept to meet her with her own sword.

The room plunged into chaos. Jesse used the explosion as a distraction, and slapped the sword right out of Gill's hand. Gill instinctively stooped down to pick it up, and Jesse used that moment to shove the boy to the ground hard, kicking the sword away. Jesse didn't feel sorry. He was fucking angry right now.

Not waiting to see if Gill got back up, Jesse went straight for Aiden, drawing his own sword out in the process. Aiden saw him coming, though, and he also drew out his sword, blocking Jesse's sword with a shower of sparks. They pushed back and forth, occasionally trying to disarm the other. It didn't work.

"You're fucking insane, did you know that?" Jesse snapped as they fought. "You blindfolded me because you _knew_ what it could do to a deaf person. You tied me up extra hard because you hated me the most. You told the Founder lies about me so you would look like the better person, so you would be trusted! How could you? What did I ever do to you?"

Aiden's face twisted into a ugly glare. He grit his teeth as his sword blocked yet another one of Jesse's swings.

"You have no idea!" was all the bully snarled as he shoved harder, fueled by rage. He began pushing Jesse back. Jesse resisted.

"Of course I have no idea, you haven't exactly been very chatty with me the past year! Or ever!" Jesse retorted. "You're being so childish, you know that? Being jealous of me and my friends just because we were better than you for once! Maybe if you were nicer, things could have been different! Maybe if you haven't bullied us all those years, we could've been friends! You could've even been standing with us on the podium that day! You think I'm the bad one Aiden, but you're so wrong. You think that all the bad that has happened to you was because of me, but that's not it."

Jesse swung his sword at Aiden's sword hilt, hoping to disarm him, but Aiden blocked it. They were locked together in another battle of strengths. Their swords began to spark.

"It's _your_ fault, Aiden. You've brought this on yourself. All this shit that's happening to you, the hate you have for me, is all your fault. I have given you no reason to hate me, you've made your own. This is your own fault, Aiden!"

Aiden let out what looked like a growl, pushing harder against Jesse's sword. Jesse clenched his jaw together as he pushed against Aiden. Despite being such a jerkface, he couldn't deny that Aiden was pretty strong. And determined. It really was a shame that he was a bully and a liar.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Jesse could see his friends fighting fiercely. Lukas and the Founder were going against Maya and Gill respectively, while Ivor and Milo tried to keep several hostile mobs at bay. Maya and Gill must've thrown a couple of eggs. The Eversource clucked innocently, standing in a corner. The sheep from before was lazily eating grass. A random wolf was trying to get to the sheep, but Lukas and Maya were in the way.

Aiden kept swinging at Jesse's chest, forcing him to step back to block it. They pushed against each other's swords for a bit, before Jesse flicked his sword upward, Aiden's sword sliding off his. Then it repeated, with Jesse repeatedly trying to disarm Aiden, and Aiden repeatedly swinging at his chest, forcing him back. He was trying to corner Jesse.

Then, something changed in Aiden's expression. Instead of rage and hate, he was now grinning, like he'd just realized something. He swung at Jesse's chest again, and he stepped back to block it-

Only for his foot to meet nothing.

Aiden's grin widened even more as Jesse realized what was about to happen. He shoved Jesse in the chest with his hands.

He was screaming before he even began to fall, because _Holy fucking Notch he was going to die._ Or maybe he wasn't. Maybe there was just an endless void that went on forever, and he was going to keep falling until Jesse decided to end himself or starve. Was that worse than dying immediately? He didn't want to know. But the problem was that he was _going to know pretty soon._

Jesse could see his friends' horrified faces as gravity began to take hold. He could see the Blaze Rods begin to overwhelm them, throwing eggs everywhere. He could see the Founder and Milo, both of which he didn't know very well, fighting as hard as they could.

But most of all, he could see Aiden, his face sweaty from fighting Jesse, his hair messed up from the wind. He also had that random rash on his chin. BUT most of all, Jesse could see Aiden's wide grin and crazed eyes, as he watched Jesse fall to his death. The Eversource stood next to him, completely oblivious to it's future.

Then Jesse lost sight of the hole completely, as he fell further down. He couldn't help but notice how Sky City looked like the Witherstorm from this angle. And how he was falling. Oh Notch he was going to die. He was going to die. There would be no water to catch him this time.

He screamed himself hoarse. He felt his tears streak past his cheeks as the wind pushed them back. There was nothing above him, or below him. With the tears blurring his vision, everything looked kind of white.

It would be like being blindfolded, in complete emptyness, with nothing around him, just the endless void. He wouldn't even have dreams to keep him company this time.

Jesse learned very quickly that he didn't want to die alone.

 **-o.0.o-**

 **Word count: 6638**

 **HOLY this chapter was more depressing than I thought it'd be. But I did some research on sensory deprivation, and hallucinations is one of the things that happens after a while. I also threw in some fear too, because who wouldn't be afraid of being truly alone?**

 **Also, I'm sorry for the long wait for this meh chapter. I had a lot of end of the year stuff to finish up, as well as some personal crap. But at least I got this out this year, right? Speaking of years, July 8th was Decibels' first birthday! YAYYYYY!**

 **Thank you all for a pretty cool year, and I'm looking forward to this next year! :))) You guys are great!**

 **Okay, I better sleep. It's 1:12 am at the time I am typing this author's note.**


	14. He is Happy (Face your Mistakes)

**Decibels chpt. 14 :** **He is Happy (Face your mistakes)**

 **Here's the real chapter 14. Thanks for being patient. I apologize for the very late update. Life got very busy. Like VERY busy.**

 **If there are any strange typos anywhere (excluding dialogue read by Jesse) please politely tell me which paragraph it is in the reviews. I typed most of this on my phone and it does funny things with auto correct. (Like changing Jesse to Jesus, though it's only happened twice) (My friend says it's because Jesus is always the answer…)**

 **Guest Replies :**

 **TheAmberShadow: I think he never got to draw a stick in the first place…**

 **LemonadeSmash: I hope that was an hour well- spent! I'm glad you like the story**

 **:))**

 **Guest(2): Ha, what made you think I have a social life? It's mostly just homework and personal stuff that slows down updates.**

 **Guest(1): Too many compliments… *blushes***

 **WARNING** **: Profanity. I think this chapter might have the most cussing out of all the chapters. Also, it's very long.**

 **Disclaimer:** **Yee.**

 **-o.0.o-**

 **No one's POV**

A cold blanket of numbness settled over Ivor, Lukas, and Petra as Jesse disappeared over the edge, a strangled scream escaping and fading quickly as he fell. All action in the small storage cavern ground to a halt. All the adrenaline left their bodies. All eyes were on Aiden, who was panting slightly, looking over the edge with an oddly blank face. Why was his face blank? Did he not care that he just murdered someone?

The world seemed to be holding its breath. Even the wind seemed to have halted in anticipation of what Aiden would do next.

Maya and Gill stared at their leader, swords limp in their hands. Sure, maybe they wanted a world for themselves, a new start, but were they willing to kill for it?

They looked at Aiden, who still wore that blank expression on his face. He would.

This wasn't what they wanted.

The silence was broken when Petra let loose a howl, either in pain or in anger, and charged at Aiden's turned back, sword raised. Surely she didn't plan on killing him in cold blood?

Just before Petra would have knocked him over the edge, Aiden whirled around and pretty much slammed the hilt of his sword against her head. Had she been calm and collected, she would have dodged easily. But her grief blinded her, and she hit the floor like a sack of potatoes, unconscious.

"Petra!" Lukas cried out, but it was in vain. Aiden stared down at her limp body, and seemed to finally come out of his emotionless state. His eyes widened slightly, and he raised his head to look at the frozen occupants of the cave. He looked down at Petra again. He didn't seem to be doing anything.

Lukas took the little pocket of inactivity to lunge at Aiden, hoping to apprehend him before he hurt another friend. Suddenly, without warning, Aiden spun his sword around to point at Petra's neck. His eyes were wide again in a blend of realization and determination. Lukas immediately froze, afraid of accidentally harming Petra. Everyone was afraid to make another move. Even Maya and Gill. The Founder may not have initially been friends with the so called "Order of the Stone", but she knew now who were truly the liars, and who were truly their allies. And Notch be damned if one of her allies died.

So no one moved. Aiden had everyone under his control. It was always what he wanted.

"Nobody moves." Aiden commanded, his voice low and slightly shaky.

"Aiden, this isn't you." Lukas said, clearly worried for his former friend. "Just lower the sword and we can ta-"

"And no talking!" Aiden interrupted, bringing the sword closer to Petra's neck. His sword hand was shaking from how hard he was gripping it, and everyone was worried he would accidentally stab Petra anyways.

"And no funny stuff." Aiden finished. Everyone watched him speak, too stunned to move. "You're all gonna do what I say, and nothing else, you got that?" He waved his sword a little to emphasize how serious he was.

Everyone nodded. Maya and Gill found themselves nodding also. As soon as they realized that fact, they looked at each other, frowning.

"Maya. Take everyone down to the prison and help me get them tied up. Gill, you're carrying Petra." Aiden ordered. When they didn't move immediately, Aiden scowled and tightened his grip on his sword. "Hello?"

They scrambled to do as they were asked, though it was fairly obvious their hearts weren't really in it. Gill went to pick up Petra, who was still as limp as a broken bowstring, while Maya half- heartedly waved her sword in the direction of Lukas, Ivor, and Milo. Aiden pointed a sword at The Founder, then herded them back up the emergency staircase, through the throne room, and into the prison. The three piles of coiled rope and two white rags were still there, remnants of Aiden's cruelty.

Ivor, Lukas, Petra, Milo, and The Founder had their weapons taken away, and were tied up, ropes wrapping around their arms, chest, and torso tightly. Their legs were left free, but when Ivor tried to kick Gill, Aiden immediately had a sword pointed at him.

"I said no funny business." he growled. It may have been Ivor's imagination, but he thought he heard a slight tremble in the Blaze Rod's voice.

They were all thrown into one cell, except for the Founder, who remained standing next to Aiden, a gag tied around her mouth and a furious expression on her face. The cell door closed with a clang, the Founder still standing outside it.

"What are you going to do to her?" Ivor asked, eyes narrowed.

"None of your business." Aiden snapped. He paused for a second, seemingly lost in thought. "And shut up."

"I swear to Notch, Aiden, this isn't you." Lukas snapped. Aiden turned to look at the blonde. "I know you were jealous of Jesse and his popularity. I know you wanted to do something cool, something amazing, just to one- up him. But tying us up? This madness? Killing-" Lukas took a breath, tears forming in his eyes. " Killing Jesse? This isn't cool. This won't solve any of your problems, whatever they are, and this _won't_ make you hap-"

"Yes it will." Aiden interrupted his former friend. He sounded slightly unsure.

"No it won't." Lukas countered. "There's no way-"

"Yes it WILL." Aiden repeated, slightly louder and more confidently. Lukas shut up, looking at his friend with disappointment. "You don't get to tell me what makes me happy. No one does."

Lukas looked away, dismayed.

He turned to Maya and Gill, who stood next to the locked cell door, unsure of their next step. "The door's locked and they're tied up. We don't need to guard them. Come on."

Aiden marched up the stairs, dragging a pissed off Founder behind him. Maya and Gill trailed behind them, regretting their life choices more and more every step. The group entered the throne room. Several guards stood around, looking a little disoriented from when Petra and Milo had knocked them out. Reginald, who was among them, spotted the Founder first.

"Your majesty! There was a break i-" he snapped his mouth shut as soon as he saw the ropes binding her and the gag muting her, as well as the enchanted diamond sword being pointed at her back.

"Gather up everyone on the island and tell them that there's a very special announcement they need to hear." Aiden ordered. He then addressed the stunned guards standing behind Reginald. "That goes for all of you."

They scrambled to do as he asked, fearing for their leader's life. Aiden stood at the top of the steps where The Founder- well, he should start calling her Isa since she wouldn't be Founder for much longer- stood hours ago. Isa herself was on her knees in front of Aiden, fuming as she glared at the sky. How dare he take my city, she thought. _How dare he._

On either side of Aiden and Isa were Gill and Maya. They both kept sending each other looks of worry and regret. What had happened to their old friend Aiden? The person who made silly jokes with them? The person who treated them as friends, not servants?

Notch, they fucked up. They should have been better friends. They should have seen the way he was always moping around, always obsessing over Jesse and the Order. They should have done something sooner, but they just passed it off as simple jealousy. But when was anything simple with Aiden? When had anything been simple since that fateful argument?

The early morning was filled with the cries of surprise and fear as the citizens of Sky City were gathered in front of the palace. They pointed at Aiden, at their tied- up leader, and the glowing diamond sword pointed at her back. The guards stood around the crowd, looking to their leader in desperation. She was their Founder. The person who created their home all by herself. She could get out of this, right? She could save them…

"What's going on, mama?" a kid asked his mother, staring up at the Founder with wide eyes, not quite comprehending the gravity of the situation. "Why's the queen tied up like that?"

"It's like the story I read to you, honey." the mother replied, pulling her son closer to her. "The Queen is being held captive by the big bad King from a far away land."

"QUIET!" Aiden shouted before the kid could ask another question. The citizens were quickly hushed, though a few whispers of fear simmered beneath the blanket of silence.

"Good morning, citizens of Sky City." Aiden started, looking over the crowd with cold eyes. "As you can see, your precious Founder has been captured and is now under my control. And since she controls you, and I now control her, I now control all of you. And you would do well to listen to me. Understood?"

The crowd shifted as everyone nodded. Their hearts were heavy. What was going to happen to their Founder? What was going to happen to them?

"Good. Now, here are some simple rules for you to follow." Aiden announced. His face was oddly blank, but his eyes burned with something no one could place. "Curfew is at eight. There will be guards everywhere to make sure you follow that. Don't talk shit about me, because I have eyes and ears everywhere" he gestured to the ring of guards surrounding the crowd, "and the consequences will be severe. I'm going to be nice and let you craft whatever, but if anyone tried to break the palace or leave the island, for whatever reason, the consequences will be very severe. And if anyone tries to free the Founder," Aiden poked her lightly, and Isa growled, "your consequences will be VERY severe. That is all. Now go home and do whatever you were doing before."

The crowd seemed frozen, and more than a few people had tears in their eyes. Everyone was too afraid to move.

"Well?" Aiden snapped, raising an eyebrow at the frozen crowd. "Get a move on!"

The crowd scattered, the air filled with hushed whispers of fear. Aiden yanked Isa to her feet roughly, and turned to lead her back into the palace and to prison. He addressed Gill and Maya, who snapped to attention as soon as Aiden looked in their general direction.

"You guys guard the palace entrance or something." he ordered. "I'll be inside. Give a shout if anyone does something stupid."

Gill and Maya nodded, silently and obediently. Aiden walked into the throne room and down the stairs to the prison. Petra had woken up by now, and boy was she furious. Lukas, Ivor, and Milo had filled her in on everything that had happened while she was out.

"You're a real asshole, you know that?" Petra growled. There was a nasty bruise on her temple, but she didn't seem to notice or care. "Killing an innocent person and imprisoning several more. Whatever it is you're doing, I hope you don't succeed. I hope you burn in the deepest depths of the Nether-"

"I don't know if your friends have told you," Aiden said coldly, "but one of my rules is no talking. So shut the fuck up."

"You're a piece of shit." Petra spat.

Aiden ignored her and lead Isa down a cell, out of sight of the others. She didn't struggle as she was shoved into a cell, with a single torch and some scorched white cloth in the corner. Her gag still tightly in place, she did nothing but glare at Aiden, her eyes burning with rage. Her face was twisted in disgust.

 _He won't get away with this,_ she thought, _I will find a way. I always find a way._

"Hope you're comfortable." Aiden said, emotionlessly. "I think you're gonna be down here a long time."

He left without another word, locking the door behind him with a metallic click. He strode past the cell with Lukas, Petra, Ivor, and Milo, ignoring the fiery looks being shot his way. Petra tried to spit at him, but missed. They didn't matter. Their opinions didn't matter. He was done with them for now.

He was back in the throne room, which was eerily empty. The early morning light shone through the windows and the back entrance, bathing the floor in soft golden light. The throne sat on its dais, empty. Aiden walked towards it, staring up at its high back, its golden lining, and the intricate carving on the armrests and feet. It was majestic, and belonged to someone with great power.

 _Well, it's mine now._ Aiden thought, and he hopped onto the throne. He put his arms on the armrests and sat up straight, staring out at the doors that lead outside. This was it. This place was his now. This, this was what it felt like to own a place, to have people follow your every word, to have people do things for you without question.

"This will make me happy." he whispered to himself. He scratched absently at the rash on his jaw. "This is what I've wanted. I am happy."

He felt like he was lying to himself.

* * *

 **Jesse's POV**

He screamed until his larynx felt like shredded meat strips. He cried until his eyes dried up from the wind. He flailed his limbs around in a panic until he realized it was pointless.

So he fell.

He fell, the wind pushing his hair back and making his eyes sting painfully. He fell, his armour like weights dragging him down. He fell, alone and scared. But what else could Jesse do in a situation like this? Not be scared and lonely? He was about to die. There was nothing else to feel but fear.

Oh Notch he was going to die alone. Well, unless someone fell after him. He hoped not. Dear Notch he hoped not. It was one thing to not want to die alone, but for someone to die with him? No thanks. The other person didn't deserve that.

The sky around him melted from a sunset pink and gold to a lighter blue, like a new day was beginning. Jesse fell through a layer of clouds, and the coolness washed over him like a death blanket. Right. He was going to die. There was nothing else to say about that. He was going to die. His book of life might as well be closed now.

So what next? Think about the meaning of life? Cry some more and pray for help he knew wouldn't come? Close his eyes and wait? He didn't know.

No. He'd had enough of this stupid uncertainty. He would not let some stupid fear of blindfolds and the unknown follow him to his grave.

In the end, Jesse voted to keep his eyes open, facing down (the wind was too strong for him to flip over). Even though it hurt to keep them open, he had to. Closing them meant darkness. Also, he wanted to be absolutely sure there was nothing below him; that he was actually going to die. A tiny smidge of certainty wasn't much to ask for.

A few seconds later, he knew it was a good choice to keep his eyes open. He fell through another layer of clouds, and something caught his eye.

Land. With a nice big lake of water.

HOLY SHIT.

He fell past two lava streams, which probably came from Ivor's random dirt skull. Now that there was something to look at besides endless blue, Jesse realized just how fast he was falling. The ground, he knew (from experience), was hard and unforgiving. The treetops were growing larger and larger the longer he stared at them. He had to get to the water.

He wiggled his way over, still falling. The water rushed up to meet him, and Jesse barely had time to get into a diving position before hitting the water. His feet flashed with pain briefly from the impact, but it was a whole lot better than belly flopping. He resurfaced with a gasp, swimming to shore without consciously thinking it. He scrambled up on shore (Shore! Land!), looking up. Endless sky, interrupted by the lava streams. He couldn't see Sky City from here.

Jesse spun around, scanning his surroundings. It was perfectly normal, with a few pretty flowers, grass waving in the early morning breeze. Trees surrounded the lake. He imagined the birds chirping, welcoming the new day. He imagined the cow to his left mooing contently, chewing on the grass. Everything was so blissfully normal, so _incredibly_ mundane and natural, that if lava wasn't falling from the sky, he never would've known there was a whole city above his head.

Holy shit, it was like the beginning. Waking up, all alone in a fresh new world, with no one to help him or care. Only this time, he _knew_ what he was missing. He knew what havings friends was like. Knowing all this made it hurt more. He was back to square one, only more lonely. Notch, he hated being lonely. He always felt a little lonely.

Maybe if he closed his eyes… counted to one- hundred like he had tried to do in the prison cell… maybe he would wake up back in the cell. Maybe this was some sick hallucination cooked up by his sensory- deprived brain. Maybe, maybe, maybe. Did he know nothing?

He got to sixty- two before he realized it wasn't a hallucination or a dream. Why would it be? This… aching loneliness, while it wasn't physical pain like a pinch or a slap, hurt too much to be in a dream.

Jesse looked up again. A normal, bright blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds, split by a streak of lava. Ivor had poured that lava. Would he see Ivor again? Would he see Lukas and Petra again? Heck, would he see _anyone_ ever again? What about Axel and Olivia? Without the portal, they would never get home. Petra, Lukas, and Ivor would never get home. _There was a big chance that none of them were ever going home._

Unless…

He looked up again. Sky City was too far up to be seen, _at least_ three hundred blocks straight up. Could he dig up that much dirt? Yes, he probably could. But could he build straight up for that long and not get tired or fall off? He didn't know. But he had to try. He had nothing to lose and everything to gain from trying.

He ran to the nearest hill of dirt, and began digging it up frantically. The dirt slowly began to build up under his nails, and it felt disgusting, but he didn't care. He had to get up there as soon as possible. Who knew what Aiden was doing up there?

He must've been at it for hours before his inventory was nearly full. The sun was beating down on his head, making him sticky and sweaty. His face was smeared with dirt, and his hair was probably full of it. But he had nearly enough dirt. A little part of his mind urged him to dig up more, in case there wasn't enough already in his inventory. A different part told him he already had enough. A little more wouldn't hurt, right?

He was so paranoid. But he couldn't help it, not after losing his hearing and having to rely on his other senses. The paranoia started with not being able to hear things coming, but then it bled out into other aspects of his life. Like this.

He punched through a block of dirt, hitting something hard. Jesse hissed in pain, shaking out his hand. What was that?

He tore away more dirt from the area, and his eyes got wider with every block. Everything that he had been thinking previously, everything he thought he'd lost, could be found again. He wouldn't have to start at square one again. He could go home. Everyone could.

He shook his head, scooped up the last of the dirt, and turned away from the portal. If anything, the discovery of the portal made it even more important to get back to Sky City to let his friends know.

And.. maybe Aiden should know too. Maybe. Did he deserve to know?

… Jesse put it to the back of his mind. He would think about it later.

He ran back to the lake, looking up. It was going to take a long time to get up there. He'd better hurry.

Long story short, it took him hours for him to be high enough to see Sky City, and an hour after that to actually get there. Building straight up wasn't done very often, and for long periods of time, for a very good reason. By the time he was level with the island, he was just about ready to drop and sleep for a couple of years. It didn't help that it was drizzling, making his hair stick to him like wet ribbons.

Jesse shook himself awake. He had to _move._ He had to find his friends, and figure out how to bring Aiden down and get the flint and steel back.

With what little dirt he had left, he built over the wall and lept down, landing quietly in the back of a little alley. He quickly pressed himself against the wall, hidden by the shadow of the house as a guard marched past, guiding a nervous- looking citizen into a house. He shut the door, saying something.

Then, Jesse noticed that the streets were eerily empty, a far cry from the hustle and bustle from earlier that day. The little amount of citizens that were out were being rushed into their homes by guards. As soon as all the citizens were in their homes with the doors shut, the guards began to patrol the area, walking up and the streets and checking the alleyways. Shit, he needed to move.

Taking a quick glance around to make sure he wouldn't be seen, Jesse wove between the houses, ducking in and out of the shadows to stay hidden and moving. He slowly made his way towards the palace. His friends were in there, right?

Someone grabbed his arm from behind, and Jesse nearly yelped as he whirled around. It was a guard, who looked to be scolding him for being out. See, this is why he sucked at being aware of his surroundings.

The guard noticed Jesse's armour, and his eyes widened, probably recognizing him from his earlier arrest. He opened his mouth to shout for other guards, probably to arrest him again. Nope.

Jesse reacted quickly and slapped a hand over the guy's mouth. Unfortunately for Jesse, he was a second too late, and the guard managed to let out a shout, which was probably loud. The alley was quickly filled with random guards, weapons raised. He was surrounded.

The day couldn't get any worse, could it?

Then again, getting arrested twice is the fastest way to get into the palace. And possibly gain Aiden's attention.

The guards restrained him quickly, grabbing his arms and holding them behind his back painfully. Another guard starting saying something, but with the dim lighting and the speed of the talking, he couldn't understand a thing. His face automatically morphed into one of confusion.

Another guard seemed to remember his deafness form earlier, and slapped the speaking guard, pointing at his ears with jabbing fingers. The other guard made an "o" face, then asked the guard holding Jesse's arms something. They began walking him out of the alley and down the street towards the palace.

It was a short walk, and soon enough, Jesse walking walking up the stairs to the palace. The guard leading the group stepped forward to address the guards standing at the top. Jesse's eyes widened when he saw who they were.

Gill and Maya. What were they doing out here? Shouldn't they be with Aiden, doing whatever? They were rarely separated. Something must've happened between them.

Due to the torches on the archway above them, he could read their lips. He'd gotten better at it, but as always, he had to fill in some spaces.

"This is-" the guard started, signaling to the guard holding him to shove Jesse forward. But before the guard could continue, Gill cut him off.

"Let go of -im." Gill ordered. "We can -andle him."

The guard holding his arms let go, and Jesse shook them out to relieve the numbness. The guards backed off, going back down the stairs and into the streets, keeping a wary eye on Jesse. He turned back to Maya and Gill, uneasy. He wasn't planning on confronting them. Kind of forgot about them, actually.

Instead of being knocked out with a sword hilt or immediately tied up, Maya and Gill immediately lowered their swords, grim expressions on their faces. Maya also had a hint of what seemed like relief in her eyes, though it flashed by too quickly for Jesse to be sure.

"How are -ou alive?" Maya exclaimed. She then slapped a hand over her mouth, glancing at the double doors that lead to the throne room. She turned back to Jesse. "Re-lly, how?"

From how Maya slapped her hand over her mouth just now, Jesse guessed that he should probably whisper. "There's land below us. The people of Sky City are wrong about the void. Luckily there was water right below the island. And…"

 _Should I tell them about the portal? Do they deserve it for what they've done lately? Or since they met?_

 _Yes. Yes they do. Because everyone deserves to go home._

"I found the portal in this world."

Their eyes widened, and they glanced at each other, the door, each other again, and then Jesse. They probably weren't planning on going home anytime soon. Or ever, if Aiden was here to take over the island.

"What are yo- gon-a do about it?" Gill asked.

Jesse gestured to the door. "Well, I have to take down Aiden. Without the flint and steel, the portal is useless."

"Yo-'re not gonna -ill him, are you?" Maya asked, eyes wide. She swallowed, glancing at the double doors. "Cause… he'z stil- our fr-end."

 _Because he's still our friend._

The Blaze Rods _were_ more than bullies, after all. They were also a friend group, a pack, just like Jesse and his own friends. It was kind of easy to forget that fact, after all they've done lately.

"No, I'm definitely not killing him." Jesse said. Gill and Maya looked relieved, and Jesse felt guilty. _They must've really thought I would kill him. And maybe I would've._

Gill nodded. "Okay, then here's the plan." he said, speaking slower. It was still pretty slow, but Jesse could tell he didn't mean to be mocking him.

"What do you mean, a plan?" Jesse hissed (hopefully) quietly. "I thought you wanted this. You've never tried to stop Aiden before, why now?"

Gill and Maya stared at each other, seemingly coming to a decision. The kind of decision that flipped your life around.

"We've… thought about stuff," Maya started, wringing her hands together and not quite meeting Jesse's eyes. "We orig-nally wanted a new start. You know, since…"

"Since Aiden fucked up and insulted you for being deaf, which everyone heard." Gill finished. He looked slightly guilty. "And bec-use of his actions, and the fac- that everyone l-ved you for saving the world, he got bullied. All three of us did."

"It was horrible." Maya added, a far away look in her eyes. "We couldn't even go outside without being called out at."

Jesse didn't know what to say, so he continued to "listen".

"We shut ourselves in our house, and we took turns going out to get groceries." Maya continued. "For me and Gill, it wasn't so bad. Just the occas-onal cat call or nasty comment. But for Aiden…"

"They beat him up." Gill cut her off, glaring at something that wasn't there. "Tried to, anyways. Knocked his grocery bag out of his hands."

"I'm sorry that happened." Jesse apologized. "I didn't know how bad the Beacontown citizens were behaving towards you. I would have done something."

Maya shook her head. "It's over, anyways. We're here now."

"We tried to take over Aiden's turns for groceries." Gill explained. "He wouldn't let us. He was afraid the citizens would get physical with us too."

"He went out with a disguise from then on. Looked like a sour old man" Maya said.

 _"We used the Block." Gabriel continued. "We were fools, and we wunted to be fay-muss, and dat lead to lies. And we," he turned to the rest of the Order, who had somber expressions on their faces, "have de-side-ed to end these_ _lies, and begin a-gen. Move on. Star. fresh."_

 _The crowd was no longer looking so sad or angry. Well, except_ _for the sour- looking guy. He was still scowling. At least his sword has been sheathed._

No wonder he didn't see Aiden much after they were appointed as the new Order of the Stone.

"He stuck a beard to his face with tree resin glue. He's fre-king al-ergic to tree resin glue." Gill added. Then he shook his head. "We're getting off track here. The point is, we had our reasons for doing what we did."

Maya nodded in agreement. "Right. We wanted to go somew-ere complet-ly new. Somew-ere we could live in peace without being reminded of all the shit we've done in the past, and what Aiden did to you."

"And I'm guessing you overheard Ivor talking about other worlds at some point?" Jesse asked, hoping he didn't sound too disappointed about it.

Gill nodded, looking slightly guilty about it. "Yeah, Maya did. She t-ld us, and we thought 'Oh, an entirely dif-rent world to restart our lives?' We had to take that chance."

"We were just going to come over here and settle down or something." Maya continued. She glanced back at the closed castle doors, where Aiden must be. "I tho-ght that's what we were going to do, anyw-ys. But I dunno, Aiden went crazy over some 'Ev-rsource' thing. We know what it is now, but we weren't planning to take it."

"Yeah, and suddenly he was asking for your arrest and shit." Gill said, now frowning. "And then he pushed you over the edge, and we knew there were zero chances of starting over here."

"We've gone too far." Maya stated bluntly. "We were Aiden's closest friends, and all we did was stand back, watch him go mad, and destroy any chances of starting over. We're no better than we were before. We're pr-baly worse."

"This needs to stop." Gill declared. "We've had a lot to think about, standing out here for hours. We've decided that we need to stop running away from our mistakes, because they'll always catch up. We've decided that we're gonna just deal with it."

"But at the same time, we don't want to outright betray Aiden." Maya said, swallowing nervously. "He has no one left but us."

"So, here's the plan." Gill said, repeating what he'd said in the beginning. He slowed down his speech to an almost painful crawl, but that meant he really wanted Jesse to get this. "You climbed back up to Sky City, and saw us. You know your friends are inside, so you marched up the steps angrily. We," he gestured to himself and Maya, who was sheathing her sword, "were so surprised to see you alive, that you easily knocked us out."

"What?" Jesse hissed, remembering to lower it to a whisper at the last second. "We don't have to go that far."

"Yeah we do." Maya said, probably sharply. "Any other way and Aiden wouldn't believe it. And we're both terrible liars."

Gill nodded. Notch, they really wanted to get knocked out by Jesse. Maybe if they didn't tell him their story, he would have punched them instantly. They would have deserved it. But with all this new information, he wasn't sure he wanted to anymore. They kind of… deserved it less than before, if that made any sense.

Funny how just a little more insight could change your perspective.

"Just do it." Maya said. "It's about time we get what's coming for us." She stepped forward, ready. Gill stood partially behind her, ready to catch her.

"You'll probably be concussed after this." Jesse warned, taking off his right glove. Armored gloves were a little overkill for this. "They tend to not feel good."

"I know that." Maya said, shrugging. "It's a small price to pay for a new start."

Before Jesse could lose his nerve, he made a fist and clocked her in the jaw. She collapsed against Gill, out cold. Jesse cringed instantly. There was already a bruise forming where he hit her.

"Shit, I hope that wasn't too hard." he cursed, shaking his fist out. He watched as Gill lay her down gently, arranging her limbs in a way that looked like she fell naturally. "Tell her I'm sorry when she wakes up."

"She'll be fine." Gill said, standing up. He turned to face Jesse. "I'm ready."

"I can't guarantee that I'll catch you." Jesse warned him, forming a fist.

Gill shrugged. "I don't really care about that. I just want this hell to be over."

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry this happened at all." Jesse apologized.

Gill shrugged again. "I'm sorry I let it happen. Just knock me out already."

Jesse did, the same way he did with Maya. He was barely able to catch the taller male, and set him down as gently as possible. He then stepped back, putting his glove back on.

That… was unexpected. But Jesse was glad it happened. Gill and Maya deserved a new beginning, and if they believed that facing the punishment for attacking Sky City was the way to go, then Jesse wouldn't stop them. Maybe they would one day come back to Beacontown as new people.

As for Aiden…

Jesse faced the double doors, a hand on his sword. There was no telling what Aiden had done in the past couple of hours. He could have his friends hostage. He could have an arsenal of hostile mob eggs with him. So many things could go wrong, and Jesse didn't know what to do. Not knowing made Jesse frustrated.

He turned back to look at the unconscious forms of Gill and Maya. They deserved a new start. Why not Aiden as well?

He pushed open the doors and walked in.

The hallway looked and felt gloomier than the last time he'd been here. The torches along the walls flickered ominously. Maybe his steps were echoing. Maybe it was eerily silent. Or maybe Aiden was having a party and it was super loud.

He reached the second set of double doors, which he knew lead into the throne room. He took a peek inside.

Aiden was seated at the throne, his feet up on the seat and legs drawn towards his chest. He was examining a green egg with black spots, tracing his fingers over the surface. He looked oddly… peaceful. No one could have guessed the curled up figure on the throne tried to murder Jesse only hours ago. He didn't look as mean as he usual was.

But he had to be talked to. No matter how innocent he was at the moment, or the reasons he had for doing what he did, he was doing something _wrong_. Jesse couldn't let it continue.

He pushed open the doors, and Aiden flinched, obviously lost in thought. He looked up, eyes widening slowly. Jesses stayed where he was, back against the double doors, waiting calmly. He felt like he was approaching a wounded animal. Aiden was, in a sense. He had been hurt by the people of their world, and ran to find another one.

"Aiden." Jesse greeted him in what he hoped was a formal tone. "We need to talk."

Aiden exclaimed something, too fast for him to read. He stood up quickly, his face melting into an annoyed, sour one. Great.

"You know I'm deaf, Aiden." Jesse said bluntly. He was quickly losing hope of having a semi- civil conversation. "I guess I'll talk, and you listen."

"NO!" Aiden shouted, and that was all Jesse could read before he had to duck away from the egg Aiden was holding. It hit the doors behind him, and a creeper sprung up, immediately locking eyes with Jesse.

A quick swipe of his sword later, the creeper went up in a puff of smoke. Jesse turned around just in time to catch Aiden's diamond sword with own. Sparks flew as they pushed against each other, Aiden yelling stuff too fast to read.

"Aiden- Aiden, I can't read that fast-" Jesse yelped as he shoved his sword aside and slid to the side, so the door wasn't behind him any longer. "Can't you just listen?"

"Why -o y-u alw-ys -ave to ruin ev-ryth-ng I do?" Aiden shouted as he swung his sword again. Jesse barely managed to block it, since he was partially distracted with reading his lips.

"Speak slower!" Jesse shouted, shoving Aiden's sword back again. If Aiden didn't back down soon, he was going to have to disarm him, and he'd rather not. It might set him off even more than he already was.

Aiden babbled on, continuing to jab his sword at Jesse. Jesse was on the defensive, blocking his strikes. The longer their fight continued, the more aggressive he got. Dammit, why couldn't he just stop and listen? Why did he have to be so stubborn?

Aiden swung high, aiming for his face. Jesse ducked, then hooked the hilt of his sword with Aiden's, twisted it, and yanked it to the side. The sword went flying from his hand, sliding to a rest at the foot of the throne. Jesse pointed his sword at Aiden, panting.

"Stand down, Aiden. I just want to talk."

Aiden seemed to snarl, and without warning, lunged forward, ducking under the sword and tackling Jesse hard. With a cry of surprise, he hit the floor, sword flying out of his hand from the impact. A fist caught him in the mouth, and he felt his lip split.

"Notch, Aiden, it doesn't have to be like this!" Jesse yelped, bringing his arms forward to protect his face. "I just want to talk!"

Aiden ignored him, or he said something Jesse couldn't read. He tried to wrench his arms apart to get to Jesse's face, but Jesse held his position. Aiden was still yelling stuff, and he was yelling it loud, if the tiny vibrations he could feel weren't lying. The guards were going to hear them and rush in. Jesse didn't know if they were going to help Aiden, or arrest him. He could let either happen. Not yet, anyways. This was between him and Aiden.

After several failed attempts to get the heavier, bigger boy off of him, Jesse resorted to bringing a foot up and kicking Aiden in the crotch. He opened his mouth to howl in pain, and the punches were lifted. Jesse quickly got up and launched himself at his sword, only to be grabbed from behind, an arm snaking around his neck.

Now, in the year that he'd been deaf, one of the things he had to worry about was not being able to hear things coming, especially from behind. Jesse had learned quite a few things about being grabbed from behind (mostly from Petra), and now was as good as any day to use that training.

He dropped down, forcing Aiden to suddenly carry his weight. Jesse then stepped behind Aiden, grabbed both his legs, and pulled out. Aiden's arm left his neck pretty quickly as he slammed into the ground. He didn't give up there, though, and scrambled back up and swung out blindly with a fist. Jesse had to lean back to avoid it.

"Notch, Aiden, why are you trying to kill me?" Jesse asked as he dodged Aiden's increasingly wild punches. "I just wanted to talk to you! I don't know why you're doing the things you're doing (he sort of did, but Aiden didn't need to know it was from Gill and Maya) but it's wrong! What do you think is gonna happen from now on? Are you going to rule the city? Lead the people? No one's following you out of loyalty right now Aiden. It's all fear."

Aiden tried to sweep Jesse's feet out from under him, but Jesse hopped over his leg and shoved Aiden hard, making him hit the floor with a thud Jesse could feel. Once again, Jesse tried to run for his sword, only to be tackled by Aiden. They went rolling, Aiden trying to punch Jesse into unconsciousness, while Jesse just tried to restrain him. Both were yelling. Both landed a couple of punches on the other.

"Aiden, stop this! You're only gonna ruin your life more than you already have!" Jesse shouted over whatever Aiden was yelling, blocking a punch with his armoured forearm. Aiden scowled as he hit it. It probably hurt.

"This madness won't achieve anything, Aiden!" Jesse yelled, twisting away from another punch. "This won't make you happy-"

"SHUT UP!" Aiden shouted (maybe even screamed), raising a fist and swinging hard at Jesse's face. Jesse barely dodged it, grabbed Aiden's wrist, and twisted it to the side sharply. Aiden yelped, but Jesse didn't feel a bone snap, so that was good. He let go, and Aiden stumbled back, rubbing his wrist. When he tried to form a fist, he winced. Sprained, then.

"Don't force me to sprain the other wrist, Aiden." Jesse warned, bracing himself for another charge by the other boy anyways. Aiden made no move to attack him.

"Great. It didn't have to come to this, you know." Jesse said, backing off slowly. Aiden followed his footsteps with his eyes wearily. "We could have talked this out calmly, like just two people instead of two enemies."

Aiden didn't say anything. Jesse continued. He didn't plan this speech. No one planned any of this.

"Um… yeah. We could've just talked this out. If you really had a problem with me, you could've come to me in Beacontown. It didn't have to this. Hopping to other worlds, taking over a city of innocent people, killing-" Jesse swallowed, remembering the terror of falling. "-killing me. We could have ended this without hurting other people who don't deserve to get caught in our messes. And you know what? I think we can still make that work. There's always another way."

Aiden still said nothing.

"You know, the flint and steel isn't yours." Jesse said, taking another step back. His foot hit his sword, probably making a sound. Aiden watched him with a wary gaze.

"I mean, the Order and I did the research. We fought the mobs. We figured out the puzzle. We, as much as you don't like it, got the flint and steel fair and square."

Aiden scowled, but didn't do anything. He refused to meet Jesse's eyes.

"I found the portal to this world, you know." Jesse told him. Aiden's eyes widened slightly. "It's under the island, far below us. There's land down there. But I can't use the portal without the flint and steel. And I'm not leaving here without it and my friends. You have to understand that."

Aiden's eyes widened at the portal part, but otherwise didn't say anything.

"And the people here are going to want to give you, Gill, and Maya some form of punishment. I can make them promise not to do anything extreme like execute you, but I don't know beyond that."

Aiden flinched at the words "Gill", "Maya", and "execute". He cared about his friends. The rash on his jaw from the glue showed that. Aiden and Jesse had at least one thing in common.

"This all could go much better for you and Gill and Maya if you accept that you've done wrong." Jesse said. "Gill and Maya have. They're sorry they let you get this far. They said they should have stood up for you when you were being beat up for insulting me. They're sorry that they were bullies and accepted what's coming to them for helping you terrorize the people here. They want to pay for what they've done. Are you going to prevent them from that?"

Aiden looked down at his feet, pursing his lips. He was thinking.

"Don't act like you haven't noticed your friendship being strained lately." Jesse pointed out. "They're afraid for you. They know the scales are going to tip over, not in your favour. This is your chance to repair it. Heck, this is the chance for you to repair your life. Maybe one day you'll think of Beacontown as your home again. Notch knows Maya and Gill do."

Aiden looked unsure. He glanced at the double doors, where Maya and Gill lay. Not that he knew they were laying there.

"Just hand over the flint and steel, and order the guards to release the Founder and my friends. Then you'll have a chance to walk out those doors someday as a better man."

Silence (probably). Aiden was likely thinking over everything. Jesse waited patiently.

"Do you want to be a better person, Aiden? 'Cause I sure want you to. Gill and Maya want it too."

Aiden hesitated, then reached into his pocket and pulled out the flint and steel. The blue glow made Aiden's face sadder. He put it on the ground and kicked it over. Jesse quickly scooped it up. He then kicked Aiden's sword back to him. Not that it'd matter later, since he'd most likely have it confiscated when he eventually goes to prison. But at least it felt more like an exchange than a "give me that it's mine".

"Thank you, Aiden." Jesse thanked him, hoping his voice sounded sincere. The flint and steel felt warm in his hands. "You don't know how much it means to me that you're ready to chang- HOLY SHIT!"

Aiden's eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he collapsed forward, out cold. Behind him stood a guard, his sword raised in the air and the hilt pointed out. He had snuck up behind Aiden and whacked him with it. Behind that guard were two other guards, each carrying Gill and Maya.

"What the hell, dude?!" Jesse squeaked, rushing over and checking on the back of Aiden's head. A bump was already forming, but as far as he could tell there was no permanent damage. "He was just surrendering!"

"He t-ok t-e Fo-der and held t-e w-ole i-land hos-age. He des-rved it." the guard spat, an angry expression on his face. Jesse had no idea what he just said, besides something about Aiden deserving it. The thick mustache did not help matters.

Jesse shook his head, giving up entirely. "Whatever. I'm deaf and didn't understand a single thing you've just said. But Aiden was surrendering and about to end this peacefully when you snuck up on us and whacked him. Violently, may I add. And now I don't know what he's gonna think when he wakes up!"

The guards glanced at each other. The one in the lead said something, pointing at his ears. He then pointed Jesse and Aiden, said some more stuff, pointed at Aiden, and then pointed in the direction of the prison.

"If you want to say anything to me, face me and say it slowly." Jesse interrupted them. The guard in front seemed to sigh, before he stared Jesse in the face and spoke painfully slowly.

"We want to put Aiden and his lackeys in a cell and retrieve the Founder." he said slowly. "She will decide their punishment, not you."

Jesse stared right back, speaking in what he hoped was a hard, no- nonsense tone. "Fair enough. But I'm going to release my friends and then I want to talk to the Founder. You owe me that much for being able to get Aiden to surrender at all. Oh, and no rough treatment."

The guards looked at each other, seemingly having a silent discussion. The lead guard then turned back to Jesse. "We agree to your terms."

"Good." Jesse nodded at them, then picked up Aiden. They made their way to the prison, Jesse in the lead. Aiden was heavy. Notch he was tired. It had been a really, really long two days. He couldn't wait to go home. He couldn't wait to see Axel and Olivia again.

Aiden's weight weighed him down, reminding him of the things to come. He still had to clean up the mess they've made here.

They reached the bottom of the stairs, and Jesse immediately spotted the cell containing all his friends and Milo. The sight of them tied up made his blood boil, but then he remembered all he said to Aiden earlier. He was going to be a better person. His friends being tied up was past- Aiden's action. Past- Aiden had already been defeated.

His friends were lying/ sitting in a daze when he walked in, but as soon as his boot hit the stone floor, they looked up, their eyes widened almost impressively fast once they realized it wasn't a guard. Lukas sat up _very_ quickly. Petra scooted forward so her face was pressed against the bars. Ivor sat up straighter. Milo grinned.

"JESSE!" they all shouted. The sound probably echoed in the stone room.

Jesse almost said "I lived, bitch.", but decided that was a bit inappropriate at the moment. He settled for a "Hey."

They all began speaking at once, faces excited and tears forming in their eyes. Jesse wished he could hear them. He wished he could hear, period.

Then the guard behind him nudged him, reminding him that he was blocking the way. And that Aiden was still in his arms, and that he needed to put him in a cell, and that he needed to release the Founder, and have a talk with her. His smile faded, and so did his friends'. He still had a lot of work to do.

"I'll talk to you guys soon, I promise." he said. His friends looked disappointed, but Jesse ignored that. He had to finish this. He continued to walk down the hallway, the guards and his friends' eyes following. He'd explain everything later. Notch there was so much to explain.

They reached the end of the hall, stopping in front of the last cell. Inside, the Founder sat tall and proud, bound to the arms and gagged. Her dress was dusty and wrinkled, and her hair hung limply in her face. Her eyes widened for a split second, before they adopted that cold, regal look of a queen. Or Founder.

The guard with the mustache flipped the lever, opening the door. He helped the Founder out, and proceeded to untie her. That left the other two guards and Jesse to set the Blaze Rods on the floor of the cell. Jesse rearranged their libs in the most comfortable position he could find. They looked so peaceful, lying next to each other like this. Almost like three friends that fell asleep together on a couch. Not three friends torn apart by ambition and jealousy.

The other two guards began pulling out ropes, and Jesse quickly held out a hand to stop them. "I thought there was an agreement. No rough treatment. That includes tying them up when they're already unconscious. They're in a cell already. Ropes are unnecessary."

The guards looked between Jesse and the Founder, who was still being untied, but put away their ropes and backed out of the cell. Jesse followed them, and closed the door. As soon as he turned around, he was face to face with the Founder. Her green eyes bore into his.

"I hear you wanted to talk to me." she said slowly. "Regarding the Blaze Rods' fates."

"Yeah, I do." Jesse, turning sideways to shuffle past her. "But I'm freeing my friends first. I promised." He didn't wait for a reply, and walked back to his friends' cell. He flipped the lever, and kind of stood there awkwardly, unsure of who to untie first.

"No one c-res, Jesse." Petra said, grinning. Were those tears at the corners of her eyes? "Just un-ie us."

Jesse let out a laugh. It felt too short and slightly strangled. He began to untie Petra, the closest person. The ropes were rough and scratchy, and Jesse winced as he remembered the rope burns on his wrists. As soon she was free, she barely spared a moment to check her wrists before punching Jesse _hard_ in the shoulder. It was so sudden that he blinked once before registering the pain.

"Ow!" Jesse half yelped, half laughed. "I don't need you punching me too!"

Petra paused, and she seemed to just realize his split lip and slightly bruised cheek. Her eyes scanned his body, seeing all the dirt and grime smeared everywhere. "Wha-"

"I'll explain later. I promise." Jesse interrupted. He turned to everyone else in the cell who watched the interaction with slightly less happy faces. "Help me untie everyone first."

They untied everyone, each hugging Jesse or showing some nonverbal form of "I'm so glad you're alive". Some happy tears were shed. But no one could miss the underlying feeling of unease. There were so many things left to do, so many questions he had to answer. Not to mention that he probably also had to talk to Aiden too.

As soon as everyone was untied, Petra sprung the first question. "Okay, w-at hap-en-d bet-een you and Aiden?"

Jesse shook his head, catching the Founder's eyes. "I'm sorry, I have to talk to the Founder about what to do next. I promise I'll tell you guys everything, alright? Go get something to eat, or.. something. Get your weapons back."

Lukas frowned. He was probably disappointed. He deserved to be. He, out of everyone else in the room, probably wanted to know about Aiden the most.

"Come on. This is important. I promise I'll answer all questions when I get everything else out of the way. A lot happened." Jesse said. Before his friends could utter a reply, he shuffled past them and into the hallway. The Founder gestured for him to follow her into the throne room, out of earshot. A guard stood by the door, watching them with one eye. As if he was going to attack anyone. The Founder looked like she could kick Jesse's ass anytime.

"What is -t that you want to say to me?" the Founder asked, painfully slowly. Jesse decided that he would just have to deal with it. She didn't know any better.

"I want to discuss Aiden, Gill and Maya's fates." Jesse declared. "Assuming you wish to punish them."

The Founder's eyes sharpened, like green glass bottles. "I will punish them for their actions against my people and I."

Jesse nodded respectfully (though he really wanted to crawl away from the hard look in her eyes). "What do you plan to sentence them to?"

The Founder stared at him, analyzing him. "At least two years in prison and two hundred hours of community work." she replied. Jesse silently sighed in relief. He was afraid that he was going to have to talk her out of giving them the death sentence.

"Great. I just ask that you and your guards don't treat them too roughly. They're genuinely sorry for what they've done. That's all." Jesse said.

The Founder nodded. "I understand. That can be arranged. Anything else?"

Jesse remembered how the people here completely believed there was absolutely nothing below them. "Uh, I think you might want to know that there's land below you."

The Founder's eyes widened. "Real-y? W-ats d-wm t-ere? H-w far d-wn?"

Jesse blinked twice. "Pardon?"

The Founder shook her head apologetically. "My apologies." she corrected herself slowly. "You say there is land below us?"

Jesse nodded. "Yeah. Grass and trees stretching for blocks and blocks. There's water too. And animals. And flowers. It's beautiful, you know..."

The Founder's eyes grew more and more amazed as Jesse described the land. She shook her head in disbelief. "But how did you survive such a fall?"

"I landed in the water. I was very lucky that there was water there at all." Jesse replied. "The only way to get down there is to jump, though you could probably build an elevator or something for future trips."

The Founder seemed to be thinking. After a while, she spoke.

"I may oneday take my people down there to live." she said, staring out the opening in the throne room wall. "This island is small."

"I think your people could use some freedom." Jesse said. He saw his friends waiting for him out of the corner of his eyes. "If you don't need to discuss anything else with me Founder, then I'll talk to my friends. They need answers."

The Founder waved her hand dismissively. "Call me Isa."

"Isa." Jesse echoed. "Did I say that right?"

She nodded. "Go talk to your friends now. I thank you for what you have dine for me and my people. I apologize for the way you have been treated earlier."

"No worries." Jesse replied. "I'm gonna go now. It was nice meeting you. I might come back for a visit sometime."

"I'll be sure to have that elevator ready by then." Isa smiled.

He smiled back, then shuffled over to Ivor, Lukas and Petra. Milo was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he had a family to see.

"Hey." Jesse said.

"Drink this." Ivor said suddenly, shoving a healing potion into his hands without warning. Jesse nearly dropped it. He stared at the rosy pink liquid, not quite comprehending it.

"Why?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. At Ivor's (and Petra's and Lukas') deadpan expressions, he frowned. "Guys, I'm not that hurt. Thanks for being concerned, but I'm fine. We should save that for a real injury."

Jesse held out the potion, and Ivor reluctantly took it back, slipping it into his "adventuring bag". They stood together awkwardly, each drinking in the other's presence. So much had happened lately. They needed a chance to just be together, not doing anything.

Lukas was first to ask the question Jesse knew everyone wanted to ask. "How did you survive?"

"The people of Sky City were wrong about there being only void below them." Jesse began. "It turns out that we're just really really high up in the sky. There's land below us."

Petra's eyes widened. "Was t-ere a port-l?" she asked quickly, seemingly excited.

"Pardon?" he asked. Petra repeated her question. _Was there a portal?_

"Yeah. Yeah there was. It would explain why it definitely wasn't on the island." Jesse said. He took out the flint and steel. It felt warm in his hands. "Hopefully it can bring us home."

"But what of the Blaze Rods?" Ivor asked slowly. "Will they come with us?"

Lukas stared at him, waiting for an answer. Jesse shifted under his gaze.

"Well, um…" he trailed off. "They've committed some pretty serious crimes against the people here. The Found- I mean, Isa, wants them punished. Said punishment is at least two years in prison and two hundred hours of community service."

Lukas looked in the direction of the prison.

"After that sentence, I guess they can do whatever they want. We can come back and take them back to Beacontown. Or they can stay here. It depends on them." Jesse shrugged. "I can't tell if they want to come back, since…"

"Since what?" Lukas asked suddenly.

Jesse took a deep breath and told them the story that Gill and Maya told him. About the bullying. The fear of going outside. He told them about how Aiden nearly got beat up by Order fans. He told them everything. That eventually lead into how he fell into the water, dug up a hill, and found the portal. He glossed over building up for a day. He also glossed over getting arrested. It was his one- sided conversation with Aiden that he told with more detail. Lukas seemed to be lost in thought several times during the story. Petra and Ivor listened with rapt attention.

"And now we're here." Jesse finished. There was a moment of sile- Notch dammit. Silence. There was a moment of silence. He had to stop.

"Thanks for giving them a chance." Lukas finally said. Jesse placed a comforting hand on Lukas' shoulder. He was probably conflicted over his old friend. Blaming himself for their fates, probably. Jesse would've done the same in his position. Heck, he was partially blaming himself even now. For not reaching out to them. For not trying to fix their problems.

"Soooo." Petra said. "Do we jum- off t-e isl-nd and go h-me now?"

Jesse guessed that she asked about home or something like that. "We could." he shrugged again. He'd done a lot of shrugging today. "But I need to talk to the Blaze Rods."

"Why?" Petra asked. "T-ey're in ja-l. T-ere's no-hing else you can do."

"No, there isn't." Jesse agreed. "But I still have to explain to them what's going to happen. And how they're going to get home, since they're obviously not coming with."

"And I want -o talk with t-em as well." Lukas said, fiddling with his fingers. He looked nervous.

"Then it's settled. Lukas and I will have our talks with the Blaze Rods, and then we jump off the island and go home." Jesse announced. "Petra, Ivor, I guess you guys can relax. Unless you want to talk to someone too?"

Ivor shook his head, muttering something that looked like "Another time", "Eversource", and "Old Builder". Jesse decided to ignore him. Petra just shrugged, as if saying "Go ahead."

Lukas and Jesse made their way into the prison, heading straight for the Blaze Rods' cell. All three were awake now, sitting together in one corner as if huddling for warmth. As soon as they saw who was standing there, they stiffened, especially upon seeing Lukas.

Lukas seemed to wilt under their gazes. They weren't aggressive, but they weren't the way you'd stare at a former friend. It was like staring at a stranger that you thought you had seen before. they truly had grown apart the past year.

"Lukas, you go first." Jesse said. "I'll turn around."

Lukas nodded gratefully, looking nervous. Jesse gave him a pat on the shoulder before turn in around and facing the way they came. Lukas knelt on the ground and began to talk.

Jesse waited a while. He rehearsed what he was going to say over and over in his head. "Hey, you guys have been sentenced to two years of prison and two hundred hours of work!" No, that sounded terrible, probably worse if said aloud. There was no easy way to say this. There was no easy way to anything.

Eventually there was a tap on his shoulder. It was Lukas telling him it was Jesse's turn to talk. Lukas, without Jesse even asking, walked back up the stairs to the throne room.

Jesse knelt down to get on the Blaze Rods' level. Maya and Gill stared at him with grim eyes, as if they knew what he was going to say. Aiden was looking at him, but not quite meeting his eyes.

"Hey guys." Jesse started.

"Hey." Gill replied, accompanied by a weak wave. Maya smiled briefly.

"So The Founder has decided your sentences already." Jesse began. "It's two years in prison and two hundred hours of service."

The Blaze Rods seemed mildly surprised, Aiden especially. They were probably expecting worse.

"I made the Founder promise to treat you guys fairly." Jesse said. "You know, no blindfolding or tying you up roughly or anything like that."

Aiden looked away. Gill and Maya shared a look Jesse couldn't decipher.

"My friends and I aren't gonna stay here. We're going back to Beacontown. That means we're leaving you behind." Jesse continued. When Aiden jerked up, staring at Jesse with wide eyes, Jesse held out a hand. "I promise that after two years, I'll come back to see you guys. If by that time you guys wanna go back to Beacontown, you can come. If you wanna stay here, you can."

Gill and Maya nodded. Aiden hesitated a little, before nodding as well.

"Great." Jesse said. There was an awkward pause as no one said anything. Jesse's knees started to ache from kneeling for so long.

"For the record, I'm not mad at you guys." Jesse said. At their unsure looks, he corrected himself. "Okay, I'm not mad at you guys now. But before I really hated you guys. But since you guys are willing to change, to become a better person, I'm willing to start over. I'm sure the same will happen with Beacontown eventually."

Aiden, Gill, and Maya shared another look. Maya looked slightly hopeful at the prospect of returning to Beacontown.

Seeing as there was nothing else Jesse could possibly say to make the Blaze Rods' situation better, he stood up. "Well, my friends are waiting for me to… uh, jump off the island and go home, soo…"

"I'm sor-y." Aiden blurted out. It was so sudden Jesse would've missed it if Aiden hadn't straightened suddenly. "I'm sor-y."

"You don't need to tell me that." Jesse said. Realizing how rude that might've sounded, he corrected himself. "I mean, you surrendered peacefully and stuff. You wouldn't have if you weren't sorry."

Aiden nodded in agreement.

"Right, okay." Jesse looked at the three Blaze Rods one last time. "I'll see you guys later, yeah?"

All three waved goodbye. Jesse turned around and left. He hoped he'd see them again.

Petra, Lukas, and Ivor were waiting for him by the front stairs of the palace. Lukas looked like he'd been crying a little. Jesse didn't question him about it.

"Ready to jump a couple hundred blocks?" Jesse asked with forced cheerfulness.

Everyone nodded, though Ivor hesitated a little. They made their way through Sky City, being stopped several times by thankful citizens. They tried their best to make their way through them to the gates. Eventually, they arrived at Ivor's dirt skull. It felt like so long ago that he had built that. It felt like so long ago that they had stepped through that portal.

They stared down at the blank whiteness below them. Lukas paled considerably. Petra looked down with wide eyes. Ivor was looking straight up, as if praying that there was another way.

"So we're gonna jump." Jesse explained, though he probably didn't need to. "Remember that we have to aim for the water. Shouldn't be too hard. We've got a long way to fall."

"Notch, Jesse, how are y-o not s-aking?" Petra asked. Petra wasn't shaking either, but he didn't say that. Petra didn't like it when her bravery was questioned.

"I'm shaking internally." Jesse replied. He was not looking forward to falling again. He remembered the absolute terror of falling, and the feeling of his stomach crawling into his chest. And the weightlessness. It reminded him too much of that fateful fall from the Witherstorm.

After a few more moments of staring straight down (and Ivor staring straight up), Jesse shrugged. "Alright, it's time we go home." And after a slight pause, he added, "Yolo."

And then he jumped.

And he fell again. Only this time, he knew he wasn't going to die. That didn't really help with the crawling feeling in his stomach and the slight terror, but Jesse would just have to deal with it. He spared a glance above him, and saw that his friends looked just as well as he felt. At least he wasn't alone this time. At least he wouldn't find his best friend dead at the bottom. Hopefully.

Notch, Jesse was pessimistic. He should fall off high places less.

They landed in the water with a splash, and Jesse quickly resurfaced to make sure his friends were okay. They were. Their eyes widened as they drank in the view. Jesse smiled.

They swam to shore and dried off as best as they could under the bright sun. Off to the left was the lava stream from Ivor's skull, disappearing into the clouds. Next to that was a single- block tower of dirt, also shooting into the clouds. That was Jesse's. He was slightly proud of himself for building something so tall.

"You bu-lt that?" Ivor asked, pointing to the dirt tower. Jesse nodded. Ivor seemed to whistle.

"Anyways, portal is this way." Jesse said, waving in the direction of the hole in the ground. They clambered down said hole, coming to a stop next to the portal. Now that Jesse looked at it more closely, it sort of resembled an egg. Like the mob eggs. Cool.

Petra hugged the portal, kissing it. "Yesssss." she groaned, smashing her cheek into the gold blocks. "Home."

"Lemme light it." Jesse grinned, pulling out the flint and steel. It seemed to vibrate the closer he stepped towards the portal. Jesse itched to go home the more he stepped closer to the portal. He was sure the others were too. He couldn't wait to tell Axel and Olivia about all that had happened.

With a flick of his wrist, he struck the flint with the steel, a blue spark jumping out. The portal was instantly filled with swirling blue light, nearly blinding Jesse. He got up and stood with his friends, staring at the portal. The doorway to home.

"All at once?" Jesse asked no one in particular. Petra and Lukas nodded. Ivor jumped up and down in excitement.

"Three, two, ONE!"

They rushed through the portal with a flash of light. Jesse hit the ground running, stumbling an extra step forward. His foot hit smooth stone. Smooth stone. Not the mossy, rough stone of the temple. A chill ran down his spine. He did not want to look up.

Petra knelt down next to him and punched the floor in anger, her mouth open in a cry of frustration Jesse couldn't hear. Behind her. Lukas dragged a hand over his face, his nostrils flaring as he (probably) sighed. Ivor seemed to be the only one still excited. Strange, strange Ivor.

Jesse looked up.

Portals upon portals in an array of colours, all lined up on either side of a hallway so long that he couldn't see the other end. There had to be hundreds of portals. None of them were labeled. None of them showed any sign of where they lead. And maybe, just maybe, none of them lead home.

Jesse turned to the side and punched the wall.

 **-o.0.o-**

 **Final word count: Too much.**

 **Well, that wraps up episode five! That took me way too long... but as I said in the fake chapter 14, life got in the way. I'm sure a lot of you have been through it.**

 **To Ariza Luca: The sour man was Aiden. So you were correct! I didn't expect anyone to get it, since you had no reason to think it was him. But I gave clues since then, so maybe you realized it :)**

 **To Toni42: HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I know it was yesterday but I couldn't finish the chapter by then.I finished this chapter today for you :)**

 **To everyone: Well, Christmas is tomorrow for me, and today for some of you, so Merry Christmas! If you don't celebrate Christmas, then Happy New Year! 2017 was a mess, but we made it through together. Here's to 2018!**

 ***Airhorn honks***

 **:))**


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